My Little Pony: Lunar Nights Collection
by A Derpy King Boo
Summary: Inside this collection is every story published that either has my OC Lunar Nights as a main character, or has an affiliation to him. Enjoy Lunar's adventures as he sets out from being the quiet unicorn he once was into the husband of Princess Twilight! Rated M for certain additions and mild language. Current word count: 285,538. Story count: 13 Note that not all stories are canon.
1. Under A Lunar Wing

_**Under A Lunar Wing**_

My name is Lunar Nights. I am a unicorn that is quite skilled in the form of magic and am a gifted unicorn, having two loving parents that push me beyond my limits. It is because of my parents that I can call the lovely Princess of the Night - Princess Luna - my teacher and mentor. She often tells me that I am her star pupil - much like how Twilight Sparkle was to Princess Celestia. I was granted an opportunity to enroll in Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns, but chose to enroll under Princess Luna's version, having her as my mentor instead of Princess Celestia. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Princess Celestia; I simply like Princess Luna a little bit more.

Either way, I am a pony with an indigo coat. My mane is purely black, having little specks of white scattered throughout it. I was born that way - at least that's what my parents told me - and so I have considered them to be just like stars in my mane and tail. My cutie mark appears to be a white circle but, rest assured, it is not. It is actually a mark of a full moon. Around the moon are more specks of white, these symbolizing stars around the moon. My aura that surrounds my horn is a clear, soothing, and smoothly flowing white color and I absolutely adore it.

I have been studying under Princess Luna's wing for roughly three years now. Ever since she reverted back from Nightmare Moon, she has been running her own school. When I applied for enrollment, I was the only pony that applied. Nowadays, since more time has passed by, Princess Luna has had more students enroll in her school and make an impact. Because I was the one who got the hypothetical ball rolling, Princess Luna decide to teach me personally by taking me under her wing, teaching me the basics to magic and all it's history and worth.

I currently reside by myself in Baltimare, focusing primarily on my studies. I have no friends because my studies come first and I haven't really a need for friends or friendships. Princess Luna encourages me to change that, saying that studying all the books in Equestria will not allow me to advance to the next stage in my studies, but I highly doubt that. After all, knowledge is the foundation for a successful pony, right? The more knowledge one has, the more successful they are projected to become, sound about right?

I'm currently reading up on some of Star Swirl the Bearded's recorded spells and written notes, trying my best to grasp all that I can obtain from him. He is the most important unicorn when it comes to the history of magic. Without him, we wouldn't have a lot of the spells that us unicorns use each and every day. Reading his hoof-written work is truly an honor; I simply cannot believe that Princess Luna trusted me with them herself. Right now, I'm reading up on his final spell, but...in this book, either there is a page missing...or...it isn't finished. Odd...I expected nothing less than completed work from Star Swirl...

Suddenly, an indigo colored scroll appears in front of me. There is a seal with a moon on it on the rolled up scroll, telling me that this scroll is from Princess Luna herself. I take off the seal and begin to open up the scroll, wondering what Princess Luna has written to me.

 _ _Dear Lunar Nights:__

 _ _I trust that you are studying very hard right now in your pursuit towards your destiny. I am writing this letter to you in regards to the Star Swirl the Bearded book, assuming you're up to, if not, past this book at the present moment. I also assume that you might be wondering why the final spell is left incomplete. The last spell in this book was Stars Swirl's final spell. He abandoned trying to perfect it because he did not understand friendship.__

 _ _My sister, Princess Celestia, has given a copy of this book to her star student, Twilight Sparkle, who resides in Ponyville, a town located not too far from Baltimare. I want you to take this book to her and learn the wonders of friendship from Princess Twilight, in the hopes that you'll be able to further your studies.__

 _ _Enclosed in this letter is a map to Ponyville. I expect you to travel there and learn the wonders of friendship and Princess Twilight is also expecting you to arrive shortly afterwards.__

 _ _You have made me proud of all your accomplishments and all the progress you've made in your studies, but all of that will be for nothing if you cannot learn how to make friends. If you learn the wonders of friendship, then you will be ready to continue on in your studies.__

 _ _Warmest regards,__

 _ _Princess Luna__

I take a closer look at the letter and notice that there is indeed a map that tells me how to get to Ponyville and the safest route on how to get there.

"Thank Celestia that I don't have to go through the Everfree Forest to get to this Ponyville and to meet...Princess Twilight? But, how can that be?"

I scratch my head, wondering if this was simply an accident - inputting the word "Princess" - or if Princess Luna actually meant that this Twilight Sparkle was a Princess. If I can recall correctly, on the entrance forms for Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns, or even Princess Luna's School of Enchanted Unicorns, it clearly stated that only unicorns are allowed to enroll, which meant no Earth ponies, Pegasi, or even alicorns. The alicorns weren't really a big deal, considering that there are only a hoofful of them in Equestria. However, if this Twilight Sparkle character is a Princess, then that most likely means that they are an alicorn and, if they were an alicorn at birth, how they were allowed to enroll at Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns is beyond me.

I put Princess Luna's letter away on the desk I was at and soon began to pack my things so that I could head out to Ponyville. Retrieving my saddlebags, I put the letter in it, along with the map, the book with Star Swirl the Bearded's unfinished spell, a couple canteens of water, so snacks, and my good luck charm, which was a figurine of the moon. This figurine, however, does not work like any other figurines you may have seen in your life before, no sirree. This figurine changes between light and darkness in accordance with the actual moon, just in opposite phases. For example, as I look up into the sky tonight, I see that the moon is in a position called the "Waxing Gibbeous," which means that the moon is approaching being a full moon. My figurine, on the other hoof, is not in the same position. It's position is called the "Waning Crescent," which means that it is approaching being a new moon.

I gently place my good luck charm in one of the saddlebags and close it up. Glancing at the map, I determine which route to take and begin to visualize approximately how long it should take me before I see myself arriving in Ponyville, which, if I leave now, should be at around the sun starts rising.

Putting the map back in my saddlebag, I make my way towards the door and turn off all the light in my little apartment. I close the door behind me with my magic, also locking it as well, placing the key back in my saddlebag, next to my good luck charm. I then began proceeding towards the stairwell, primarily because the elevators that are in this building cannot be trusted, for they get jammed and stuck in between floors the majority of the time.

I don't mind taking the stairs - really, I don't. I mean, I'm not like somepony who lives on the top floor and has to climb twenty-one flights of stairs, that would be a workout in itself. I live on the seventh floor of this building, which, in itself, is another reference to myself as to why I love living here so much. The seventh floor, along with my apartment letter - C - all mean something special to me, considering the fact that I am the seventh grandchild in my family and the fact that my grandparents lived in a similar apartment - 7C - in another building in downtown Baltimare.

I get down to the first floor in a matter of minutes and begin exiting the building. Outside, it is a warm, breezy, Friday evening. This is the sort of weather that usually roams around towards the end of spring, but we are only about a week into it so far. Once again, I don't mind it, I just like to speak my thoughts through more internal thinking - if that makes any sense whatsoever. One problem I have - and I will be the first to admit it - is that I tend to speak my thoughts as they come to me. As I am stating a point, really, in my head, the rest of that point is formulating. My head is ahead of my mouth by about four or five words. It's this type of problem that forces me to suddenly stop and then think about what I am saying, what I have said, and what I would have said, forming a lot of sudden pauses in between sentences and during them. But, I'm getting a bit carried away.

As I look at the map, I notice that Ponyville is located a few miles east of here. Putting the map back into the saddlebag, I begin my pursuits towards Ponyville and towards this Twilight Sparkle character, hoping to further my studies even more and make Princess Luna proud of me.

* * *

"This pathway leads directly to Ponyville...all I have to do is follow it there."

I began trotting down the path in front of me, happy to know that my studies have been making Princess Luna so proud of me. As I trotted down this path, I looked up at the almost-full moon and smiled at the beauty of it, plus the beautiful astronomical stars that were elegantly lighting up the nighttime sky. I love the night; I love everything about the night, after all, I am nocturnal.

I'm not a dark kind of pony, truly I'm not. I love everything about everything in life, but simply choose to carry on in my own way, which has led me down the path of individuality. Clearly, according to Princess Luna, my decisions and actions, though they have brought much praise and acceptance to me from Princess Luna herself, aren't the true ways and paths that I should be on right now. My way of independence is simply the way I am but, for Princess Luna's sake and for mine, I will be more than happy to make some room for adjustments.

Up ahead in the path, I see a fork in the road. Taking out the map, I skim to where I currently am and notice that there is no fork in the road here, but the path does lead a bit to the left slightly. Looking back at the path, I take a heavier glance and notice that the path on the right is that of mud and flattened grass, meaning that this path was probably pony-made not too long ago. Looking over to the path on the left side, I saw that it was a continuation of the same path I was currently on – a dirt path. I put the map away and began trotting down the left pathway.

The moon was lighting up the pathway fairly decently, so I ceased the light that I was emanating from my horn. Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light. My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim, forcing me to stop for the night. It was odd, considering the fact that I was nocturnal, but nonetheless, I stopped on the side of the path and decided to set up a campsite for the night.

* * *

The next morning, I awoke fairly early so that I could make it to Ponyville on time and not disappoint this Twilight Sparkle pony. The more I thought about her name, the more I thought how familiar that name sounded. I remember reading somewhere in the newspaper about a mare from Ponyville being crowned the newest Princess in Equestria...could this Twilight Sparkle be that very same mare?

I thought nothing more of the topic as I started to enter into the limits of a new town. I pulled out the map from my saddlebag and noticed that this town was Ponyville. Putting the map away, I took out the letter to see where exactly I was supposed to go.

 _"_ _ _Twilight Sparkle will be waiting for you.__ _"_

"Is that it?" I flip over the letter, searching for something to help me try and locate Twilight Sparkle, but there was nothing more on the letter. I was searching blindly for a Twilight Sparkle in a town that I don't even know that much.

In front of me, there were ponies of all kind – unicorns, Earth ponies, Pegasi – and there were even more Pegasus ponies flying through the air. I noted one Pegasus that had a rainbow forming behind them as they flew, which I found pretty cool. I wanted to go introduce myself to that Pegasus, but first things first: finding one Twilight Sparkle.

I entered further into the town, trying to locate a pony that I didn't even know what they looked like. I'm not one for asking for help, but in this case, I have no other choice. I saw a little peculiar looking shop to my left and decided to go in and ask the proprietor if they knew who this Twilight Sparkle was. In this little, peculiar shop stood two Earth ponies – one blue, one yellow.

"Hello there, and welcome to Sugar Cube Corner." The blue Earth pony happily told me.

"What can we do you for?" The yellow one asked.

I felt a bit weird. Never before had somepony asked me or spoken to me like that, aside from Princess Luna and my own parents. Not wanting to be rude, I politely answered them back with a smile being worn brightly on my face.

"Nothing for me really, thank you. I do have but one question for either of you, if that is quite alright with you."

"But, of course it is." The blue pony smiled.

"What is it that you want to ask?" The yellow one questioned.

"Well," I chuckled, "I-I'm new to Ponyville and need to know if you know where one Twilight Sparkle may be."

"We most certainly do!" The blue pony stated.

"You do?" I hoped. "Well, that's most excellent!"

"Let me ask you this." The yellow pony began. "Why do you need to see Princess Twilight?"

 _ _So she is a Princess...__ I thought. I turned to the yellow pony, who was slightly shorter than I was. "My mentor requested that I meet her and learn from her."

"That's surely interesting." The yellow pony told me.

"Thank you." I smiled. "Do you know where Twilight Sparkle would be at this current moment?"

"Unfortunately not, dear." The blue pony glumly answered.

"Nor I..." The yellow one added.

I wanted to frown, but kept my smile up so that I would not be rude. I thanked the two for their help and started to take my leave. As I turned around, I was greeted to an immediate pink view, courtesy of a pink Earth pony that was standing right behind me, now in front of me. The pink pony must have heard everything that was just spoken and so, she pressed on to me, forcing me backwards a bit.

"Hi!" The pink pony shouted. "I hear you're looking for Twilight!"

"Umm..." I quietly replied. "Th-that's right...I'm sorry but, who are you?"

"I'm Pinkie Pie and I just love making new friends!" They replied, giving me a tight hug in the process, crushing my wind pipes slightly.

 _ _Wow...she sure gives strong hugs...__

"I also happen to know Twilight personally." Pinkie Pie told me.

"You ***cough*** do?" I struggled saying, trying to ease my pain.

"Mhmm!" smiled Pinkie Pie.

"Would it be too much to ask if you took me to her directly?" I hopefully asked.

"Not at all, silly willy!" Pinkie Pie replied.

"That's perfect!" I smiled brightly. "Thank you very much, Pinkie Pie!"

"You're welcome!" Pinkie Pie responded. "I didn't catch your name. What is it?"

"My name is Lunar Nights," I answered, "and I am Princess Luna's star pupil."

"Princess Luna's star student?" Pinkie Pie repeated. I gave a simple nod. "Wow!" She continued. "So Princess Luna's star student is about to meet Princess Celestia's star student to become super duper, star-tacular, awesomerific, student-friends!"

"Uh...yeah..." I chuckled.

"Let's go see Twilight then, Lunar!" Pinkie Pie smiled, dragging me out of Sugar Cube Corner and through the streets of Ponyville.

* * *

"There! Over there!" Pinkie Pie happily pointed. "There's Twilight's house...or would it be a tree? Ooh, ooh! It's a tree house!"

"Twilight Sparkle lives in that giant oak tree?" I asked, scanning the gigantic tree in front of both of us. It was a peculiar looking tree and intriguingly placed, being in a town where the tallest building, minus the town hall, was only half of this tree's height.

"Yes in deedy dandy!" Pinkie Pie smiled in response.

"Well then," I continued, "shall we go see Twilight?"

"Sure!" Pinkie Pie replied, bringing me up to the front door of this giant oak tree. She then began knocking on the door in a sort of unusual pattern. "Twilight~"

Through the interesting knocking, I could hear some hoofsteps coming from inside the tree and, by the sound of them and by my assumption, I figured that this Twilight Sparkle was coming up to answer the door for Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie shifted back next to me and was bouncing up and down in place. I followed her pattern with my eyes for a few seconds before turning to see that the door was being embraced in a magnificent and lovely raspberry colored aura.

I quickly brushed my mane to the side, trying to tidy myself up a bit before finally meeting Twilight Sparkle first hoof. I wanted to look picture perfect before meeting my next mentor for friendship. Making Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle proud of me is my number one priority, no matter who my mentor may be. Pinkie Pie saw me brushing my mane and started giggling.

"Relax," she told me, "Twilight is just gonna absolutely love you!"

"I sure hope so..." I replied as the door opened up. In the doorway stood the most beautiful mare I'd ever seen. I was simply awestruck, putting this in other words. In the doorway, there was a cute, little, mulberry colored alicorn, whom has a moderately sapphire blue mane and tail, having streaks of violet and rose strands in them. I caught a glimpse of her cutie mark and noticed that it was a pink, six-pointed sparkle, surrounded by five smaller white sparkles. I turned my attention to her face and was drawn in by her beautiful, soothing violet eyes. I was baffled and could feel myself begin to blush.

"Hey, Pinkie Pie," the mare smiled. She had such a lovely and elegant voice and smile, it simply melted my heart.

"Hi, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie responded, bouncing up and down in place again.

The little mare turned her attention towards me now. She looked up, seeing how I was taller than her by a few inches and was staring at my mane. I managed to keep a smile the entire time as the mare gazed into my indigo eyes. I saw her crack a smile on her beautiful face as I started to blush slightly, causing her to giggle at my rosy colored cheeks.

"Oh, uh...m-my name is, uh, Lunar Nights." I said, having a hard time saying it. "I, uh, I'm Princess Luna's star pupil and I'm, uh, here to see Twilight Sparkle."

The little mare giggled again. "I've been expecting you, Lunar Nights." She told me. "I just wasn't expecting you to be so..." She appeared to lose her chain of thought for a quick second.

"So you must be Twilight Sparkle then," I assumed, "excuse me, you must be _Princess_ Twilight Sparkle, Your Highness, correct?"

"I am indeed, Lunar Nights," Twilight Sparkle replied, "but you may simply address me as Twilight. You don't have to address me as Princess Twilight."

"Thank you very much, Princess Twi...I mean, thank you, Twilight," I smiled, "and you may address me simply as Lunar."

"Will do, Lunar." Twilight giggled. She then turned her attention towards Pinkie Pie, who was still bouncing up and down in place. "Thank you for bringing Lunar to me, Pinkie."

"No problem, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie replied.

"Now, if you'd excuse us," Twilight continued, "we must start the studying."

"Okie dokie, lokie!" Pinkie Pie said, turning around and galloping away, leaving me alone with Twilight.

Twilight turned back to me. "Shall we begin the studies then, Lunar?" She moved out of the way and motioned me to enter into her home.

"We shall, Twilight," I smiled, "thank you."

I entered the peculiar tree-home and turned around to await for Twilight and her guidance. She shut the door with her magic, then came over to me, bringing me to the center of the room we were currently standing in. She turned around and stared me right in the eyes.

"Okay, Lunar," Twilight softly spoke, "Princess Luna tells me that you are a skilled unicorn in the field of magic."

"That is correct, Twilight," I answered, "though it's nothin to brag about really."

"Quite the contrary," Twilight continued, "not a lot of unicorns are skilled with magic the way you and I are. Now, since Princess Luna - and apparently you as well - claim that you are her star pupil who is skilled with magic, why not showing me a few things, that way, I can see where you currently are in your studies. Does that sound fair, Lunar?"

"I have no reason to object to such idea," I replied.

Twilight smiled at my response. "Such lovely manners."

"Thank you very much, Twilight." I said.

"You're very much welcome." Twilight continued. "Well now, let's see where you are in your studies."

"Sounds good." I smiled brightly, ready and eager to finally start my learnings of the magic of friendship under the guidance and teaching of Princess Twilight Sparkle.

She turned to me and smiled brightly, probably eager to begin.

"Okay," Twilight Sparkle started, "Princess Luna tells me just how skilled you are in the field of magic. So, let's start out with something simple."

"Seems fair." I replied.

Twilight giggled. I really loved that sweet and innocent giggle of hers. It showed character and a form of innocence within Twilight. She opened her violet colored eyes and half-closed them again as she glanced up at me.

"Show me a short distance teleportation spell." Twilight smiled.

I nodded, then planted my hooves firmly on the ground. I focused all the magic I had towards my horn and felt the magnificent and smooth white aura wrap itself around my horn and begin to light it up. I felt determined to perform such an easy spell, I foresaw Twilight Sparkle being very pleased with me.

For those who don't understand the way of magic and it's understanding, allow me to explain. For a magic spell to work - whether it be a teleportation spell, a levitation spell, or even concussive magic blasts - one with magic, whether it be a unicorn or an alicorn, needs to imagine what it is that they wish to do. Once they imagine it, the one performing the spell simply must make it a reality by casting the spell from their horn. To a novice unicorn or alicorn, a few spells can usually be their limits and, once a magic limit has been reached, a unicorn or alicorn cannot perform any other spells until their magic has been fully recharged. If they try to cast another spell after they have reached their magic limit, their horn will spill out sparks of magic, thus leaving the spell as an utter failure. I thought about the teleportation spell, plus the destination that I wished to teleport to - across the room - and began to cast it. I felt a magical sensation wrap itself around me and begin to transport me to my destination, give or take a few inches. A sound reminiscent of what a cork would sound like being removed from a bottle sounded and I was transported at light speed to my destination. I turned around and smiled at Twilight Sparkle, who, as predicted, seemed very impressed with my teleportation spell.

"Very good, Lunar," Twilight smiled, clapping her front hooves together.

"Thank you very much, Twilight," I replied, bowing to her in the process. Let's be honest for a quick second: she is a Princess after all.

Twilight chuckled. "There's no need for that, Lunar. It's perfectly fine."

"If you say so, Twilight." I said, raising myself once more.

Twilight smiled in response. "Now I want you to show me a levitation spell."

"Sure thing, Twilight," I replied, "what do you want me to levitate?"

"Anything will do, Lunar." Twilight told me.

"Okay, Twilight," I smiled, "hold on tight."

"What do y- whoa!"

I had casted a levitation spell and levitated Twilight in the air with my magic, which was something Twilight was absolutely not expecting. She began giggling because the magic aura around her was tickling her a bit - courtesy of yours truly - until I finally set her back down on the ground slowly and smoothly. I smiled at Twilight, whom had returned the favor. Collecting herself from an interesting flight, Twilight began continuing to test me.

"Well that was impressive," Twilight giggled, "now I want you to show me a light spell."

"A light spell?" I repeated.

Twilight smiled, then began to light up her horn a bright magenta color. She pointed to her horn and told me that what she was doing was considered a light spell. I understood now what she meant and began to light up my horn with a very bright white color, lighting up the room significantly. Twilight was once again impressed and clapped her front hooves once more. I dimmed the light from my horn and ceased it all together while Twilight continued on.

"Very good," Twilight smiled, "and very bright."

"Thank you, Twilight," I replied.

Twilight smiled bigger now. "Now, show me a halting spell."

"Halting spell?" I asked, shuffling one of my hooves around. "What's that?"

Twilight smiled, then casted the spell. I was wondering what exactly she was doing, then slowly found myself having a hard time continuing to move my hoof. I tried looking down, but found that I couldn't move my head at all. I looked back at Twilight, whom had begun giggling at my confusion.

"Alas," she spoke, "what you're experiencing is a halting spell."

Twilight then ceased the spell and I found that I could move myself once more. I was baffled by this spell; it is definitely one that I haven't learned just yet. I turned to Twilight, whom was expecting me to copy and cast the spell fully. I looked down in shame and admitted to Twilight that I did not know how to cast that spell. Twilight sensed my shame and walked up to me.

"Don't worry about it, Lunar," Twilight told me, placing a hoof on my shoulder, causing me to blush slightly, "you don't have to know every spell that I know."

"I just wanted to impress you with what I've learned thus far in my studies." I glumly spoke.

"And you have," Twilight softly replied, "not a lot of unicorns know such a variety of spells like you."

She wrapped a hoof around me and hugged me. I felt my cheeks turn pink as the beautiful Twilight Sparkle was pressed up against my body. I returned the hug, which felt much like years. I didn't want to let her go, but I had to. She pulled herself away from my body and looked at me affectionately in the eye.

"Not every unicorn is like you, Lunar Nights." Twilight whispered.

"Not every mare is like you, Princess Twilight." I replied with a volume as quiet as hers.

"Come, Lunar," Twilight told me, "I want to show you something."

"Lead the way, Twilight." I smiled as Twilight began taking me out of the front door.

* * *

As Twilight took me out, I noticed almost all the color in this quaint town. Slowly but surely, I continued following Twilight through the peculiar streets of Ponyville. Along the sides of the road stood plenty of ponies, all smiling and having happy looks attached to each and every one of them. A little bit further down the road, Twilight took me passed a marketplace and passed so many shopkeepers and ponies alike, all wearing smiles on their faces as well on this beautiful, sunny Thursday afternoon.

Twilight glanced back and saw my view of the scenery and how I was taking them in. I looked all around the area from top to bottom. The area was simply colorful, having colors that ranged from bright yellows to deep reds and from warm and inviting greens to cool and calm blues.

"Enjoying the sights, Lunar?" Twilight asked me as we continued walking along the road through Ponyville.

"It's beautiful, Twilight," I replied, "it's so much more colorful and welcoming than things are back home in Baltimare."

"I'm glad you are enjoying the sights, Lunar," Twilight continued.

"I'm much appreciative of you that you've brought me here, Twilight." I smiled.

"You're very welcome, Lunar," Twilight replied. Some silence fell between Twilight and myself while walking around the town, to where, I still wasn't quite sure. Finally, Twilight broke the intriguing silence. "Tell me, Lunar, how many friends did you leave back home when Princess Luna requested that you come and see me?"

"Umm...would you rather prefer the honest truth," I responded, "or a convincing lie?"

"The honest truth would be my preferred choice, Lunar," Twilight told me, "why do you ask?"

"Well," I continued, "since you've preferred the choice I assumed you were to pick, let me just say that I have left absolutely zero friends back in Baltimare to come here to Ponyville."

"Zero friends?" Twilight repeated.

I nodded. "I, uhh...wasn't one for making friends back home, Twilight. I lived alone and felt it best that I didn't make connections with anypony, thus, I have never made any friendship back home."

"But you've made a connection with me." Twilight spoke, causing me to raise my eyebrows. Twilight recognized the silence and continued with her explanations. "If connections are a problem for you, Lunar, I can say that you will easily be able to make a connection with somepony else. These connections are vital if you want to establish friendships with everypony and friendships are vital if you wish to continue your studies, Lunar."

Twilight then extended her wings and twitched them in front of me. I didn't understand what this meant, so I thought nothing more of it. Twilight then put her wings back by her sides once more and finally began to slow down after this refreshing walk through the town. I looked at the building we had slowed down in front of and noticed that it was the exact same building I walked into when I arrived here earlier today.

"You know of Sugar Cube Corner, correct?" Twilight told me.

"I've been here earlier today, Twilight," I replied, "how did you know that?"

"I saw you enter town earlier today and was following you." Twilight explained. "When I saw you enter here, I went home and decided to..."freshen up" a bit and make my appearance dazzling, if you will."

"Oh," I amusingly spoke, "so you were stalking me and were making yourself look attractive to me, were you?"

Twilight blushed, "I suppose so..."

"Twilight," I chuckled, "there's no need for that with me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you already look stunning, my dear." I answered, causing Twilight to blush a brighter pink color.

"Thank you, Lunar," Twilight said, pulling her head away so that I would be unable to see the obvious blushing.

"You're very welcome, Twilight." I smiled.

Twilight rose her head and then entered into Sugar Cube Corner. Inside the facility, the same blue and yellow ponies I had seen earlier were still there, as well as Pinkie Pie.

"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Cake," Twilight smiled, "how are you two doing today?"

"Oh, we're fine, dear," The blue pony, Mrs. Cake, responded.

"Perfectly fine, Twilight," The yellow pony, Mr. Cake, added, "how about you?"

"I'm feeling wonderful today," Twilight replied, "thank you for asking."

"Not at all, Twilight," Mrs. Cake told Twilight.

"I'm wondering if we can "borrow" Pinkie Pie for a while," Twilight requested, pointing towards me in the process, "it's for a lesson that I am teaching Lunar Nights, Princess Luna's star student."

"Of course you can, Twilight," Mr. Cake smiled.

"We aren't busy today and can take care of any customers ourselves today," Mrs. Cake added, "so you may indeed borrow Pinkie Pie."

"Thank you very much," Twilight obliged. She then called out to Pinkie Pie, who had walked into the kitchen to set down a few supplies. "Pinkie Pie? We need you for a while."

Pinkie Pie bounced out from the kitchen and bounced right in front of Twilight and myself. She hugged both of us very tightly, crushing my wind pipes again, before finally asking Twilight what she was needed for.

"You and Lunar may already be friends," Twilight spoke, "so I'm going to round up the other girls and see if he can't make connections with them as well. This will be a lesson on how to make some friends for him."

"Oooh, that sounds awesomely amazing, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie replied.

"I'm sure it does," I added, unsure if this was the right move for me so far.

"Come along, you two," Twilight smiled, "let's go see Rarity now and then Fluttershy." Twilight turned to Mr. and Mrs. Cake in the process. "Thank you again, Mr. and Mrs. Cake."

"You're welcome, Twilight," they simultaneously said as Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and myself walked out of Sugar Cube Corner.

"So, Rarity's next, right Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked, bouncing up and down still.

"She is, Pinkie Pie." Twilight answered, turning to me in the process. "Hopefully by the end of the day, you would have made a few new friends."

"I...hope so," I falsely replied.

Twilight didn't catch the pause I gave and thought nothing of it. We began walking in the northeastern direction so that we could go meet this "Rarity" and see if they would help out in this lesson of mine. I walked next to Twilight on her right side while Pinkie Pie was on her left, bouncing up and down as we went along down the road. Breaking some silence – yet again – was Twilight, whom was telling me something about this "Rarity" we were going to go see.

"You'll love her, Lunar," Twilight told me, "she's a very beautiful and generous unicorn, skilled in the field of fabric design and dress making. With your perfect manners and amazing..."

I noticed Twilight beginning to trail off, but decided to not say anything about it.

 _ _But if only I can get you to like me...__ I thought silently to myself.

* * *

"Here we are," Twilight smiled, "the Carousel Boutique, home of the one and only Rarity."

"Ooh, I'm soooooo excited that you're about to meet Rarity, Lunar!" Pinkie Pie shouted, wrapping herself around my neck.

"I...sure can't wait to see her..." I uncomfortably replied.

Twilight smiled at me, then approached the front door to this tall structure. She knocked on the door gently, then trotted back to my side, and in between Pinkie and myself. Moments later, the front door opened up and there, standing in the doorway was a very attractive looking unicorn. She had a royal purple mane and tail and had a very bright and cleanly kept white coat. On her flank stood three little blue gems and, when greeting Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie, she had an upper class, English sounding voice.

"Hello, Rarity," Twilight smiled.

"Good day to you, Twilight," the white unicorn replied, "hello, Pinkie Pie." She turned her attention to me next. "Who do we have here?"

"This is Lunar Nights," Twilight explained, "he is Princess Luna's star pupil. I'm teaching him the ways of friendship."

Rarity was just about to say something to me before Twilight had interrupted both of us from saying anything.

"Pinkie Pie," Twilight interrupted, "would you please take Lunar to the edge of Ponyville, please? This friendship lesson won't work if he greets himself to all of our friends, you know."

"Okie dokie, lokie!" Pinkie Pie smiled, grabbing one of my hooves and dragging me someplace else.

I was being taken by Pinkie Pie somewhere else, probably to help Twilight shape up the lesson she had for me. I guess Twilight had a point when she said that this lesson wouldn't work if I met all of her friends prior to the lesson even starting. Either way, Pinkie Pie ran and dragged me to an area that I was around when I first arrived earlier today.

"So, Lunar," Pinkie started, trying to break some awkward silence, "hope you don't mind me calling you that."

"Not at all, Pinkie Pie." I replied.

"Oh please, Lunar," Pinkie Pie continued, "call me Pinkie...all my frieeennnnds do." Pinkie Pie then fluttered her eyes at me while saying "friends" the way she did to me.

"Sure, Pinkie." I played along, causing Pinkie to smile brightly.

We stopped right before this very late forest - the Everfree Forest - and Pinkie turned to me, asking me more about myself, like what I did and where I was from.

"Well, Pinkie," I smiled, "I am from Baltimare. I study magic at Princess Luna's School of Enchanted Unicorns, hoping to one day further my studies."

"That sounds exactly like Twilight with Princess Celestia!" Pinkie told me. "Twilight studied at Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns and was able to further her studies."

"I know, Pinkie," I chuckled, "Twilight is popular among the two schools for what she has done in Equestria thus far...it's a shame though that we don't know what she looks like."

"Now you do, silly willy!" Pinkie laughed.

"Well, yeah," I answered, "but not before today do I know what Twilight looked like...and boy is she stunning..."

"Ooh!" Pinkie gasped. "Sounds like somepony's got a crush on Twilight~!"

I blushed. "I do not! I'm just...admiring her honesty and dedication to teach me...yeah, that's it."

"Sure you are." Pinkie replied.

I shook my head slightly and looked over to my left, noticing Twilight coming in this general direction along with four other ponies - two of which were Pegasus ponies, one a unicorn, the unicorn I met earlier, and one orange colored Earth pony. I didn't recognize any of them - except Twilight and the white unicorn obviously - as they all approached Pinkie and myself. Twilight eventually stopped in front of us and the other four ponies had lined themselves up from left to right about a few feet across from where I was standing right now. She spoke up and told us why all these ponies were in front of me at the moment.

"If I may, Lunar," Twilight started, "do you recognize any of these four ponies that are standing before you this current moment?"

I took a long look at each one of them extensively. I shook my head no to Twilight when I found out that I did not know a single one of these ponies.

"No matter, Lunar," continued Twilight, "then this lesson will prove to be extremely helpful to your studies."

"What's the lesson, Twilight?" I asked out of curiosity.

"The lesson, Lunar Nights," Twilight smiled, "is to befriend each and every one of these ponies that are standing before us."

"Befriend them?" I repeated, taking one more quick glance at each pony. "Are you sure?"

"Positive, Lunar," Twilight smiled, "now hop to it. You've wanted to continue your studies, correct?"

"Of course, Twilight." I answered.

"Well then, let's first make some friends, then we can try to continue and further your studies."

I gulped, then turned my attention to each of the four ponies that were ahead of me. Twilight noticed the gulp and tried her best to ease my nervousness.

"Relax, Lunar," Twilight told me, walking up next to me, then wrapping one of her wings around my back, "since you already know something about each pony, use that to help you get better acquainted with each of them."

"I know something about each of them?" I repeated, pointing at each of them.

"Sure," Twilight smiled, "...wait...you do have the updated book on Equestrian history, don't you?"

"No," I replied, "I do not..."

"Oh," Twilight sighed, "then this might be a little bit more interesting with you."

"How so?" I asked.

"Well," continued Twilight, "since you know nothing about these ponies, you'll have to make connections with them if you wish to continue on with my lessons and studying."

I turned to the other four ponies, gulped, then proceeded to near the white unicorn from earlier. All that was racing through my mind was how I was going to connect with each of these ponies, not knowing a single thing about them.

 _ _This might prove to be a bit harder than expected...__ I thought to myself.

"Well, Lunar?" Twilight chuckled. "Go on..."

I gulped yet again, but made sure for it not to be completely obvious. I was indeed nervous as well, for I have never really made four friends like this on the spot, let alone one friend, or any friend, really. Twilight was expecting me to do something that I deemed as impossible, but apparently it was possible - at least it was to her. I approached the white unicorn first and started my worst attempt at making her acquaintance and earning her trust and friendship.

"He-hello there." I began.

"Hello, darling," the unicorn replied in her high societal voice.

"My name is Lunar Nights," I continued, "what's your name?"

"My name is Rarity," they continued, "and you may address me as such, Lunar."

"Rarity," I smiled, "well that's a lovely name."

That comment got Rarity to blush a bit. "Thank you, Lunar, for the adoring compliment. I simply admire the name "Lunar" myself. It matches your personality and your appearance very well."

"Thank you, Rarity." I obliged.

To tell you the truth, this actually seemed very fun and amazing. Twilight saw the fun I was having and decided that it best move on to the next pony in line, the orange colored Earth pony.

"Excellent job, Lunar," Twilight complimented, "same to you, Rarity. I'd say that you two are friends, which is a good step down the path of friendship for you, Lunar."

"Thank you, Twilight," both Rarity and myself replied in unison.

Twilight smiled. "Next up is this hardworking pony." She pointed to the orange Earth pony again. "Try to establish a connection with her."

I nodded, then began to approach the orange colored Earth pony. Before I started, however, Twilight told us both one more thing.

"Even though you heard everything Lunar had just said," Twilight told the orange pony, "I want you to make it seem as if you two were meeting for the first time."

The orange pony nodded at Twilight, then faced me and stared at me in my eyes. Clearing my throat, I began to try and establish a connection with this pony.

"Hello there," I began, feeling a bit more confident than the first time, "my name is Lunar Nights. What's your name?"

"Well, howdy do there, Lunar," the orange pony smiled, shaking hooves with me which, on a side note, really hurt.

 _ _Wow,__ I thought, _ _this is sure one strong pony! And I'm not a pushover...__

"Mah name's Applejack," they continued, still shaking hooves with me, "Ah jus' love makin' new friends!"

"Applejack," I smiled, finally having my hoof released, "that's an interesting name. I assume you work around apples or do something with apples, correct?"

"Sure as sugar, sugar cube," Applejack continued, "Ah work on an apple orchard wit' mah family, supplyin' Ponyville wit' apples an' other parts of Equestria."

"Really," I smirked, "that's very interesting, Applejack. I also assume it's hard and exhilarating work, correct?"

"Hard?" Applejack repeated. "Nah, but, that might jus' be me, since Ah've been buckin' apple trees since Ah was jus' a youngin'."

Twilight smiled once more as she determined that I have made a connection with Applejack, which was something I could sense as well. Before I could continue talking and conversing with Applejack, Twilight stopped us both and pulled me away from Applejack, thanking her in the process for her work.

"Now I want you to try and establish a connection with that Pegasus over there." Twilight told me, pointing to a cerulean colored Pegasus with a rainbow mane - the Pegasus I saw earlier today flying through the skies.

Confident as ever, I nodded, then began to approach the Pegasus. "Hi there," I began, "my name is Lunar Nights. What's your name?"

"Name's Rainbow Dash," the Pegasus told me, "and as you can see," she paused as she began performing some spectacular aerial motions before settling her hooves back on the ground in front of me, "...I'm one hundred and twenty percent awesome!"

"That was pretty cool, Rainbow Dash," I complimented, "it was like I was seeing a one-pony Wonderbolt aerial show."

"Well, I am awesome," Rainbow Dash bragged, "plus, I am training to be a Wonderbolt one day."

"I'm sure they would take you in a heartbeat, Rainbow Dash," I encouraged, "have you ever enrolled in their training academy?"

"Once before," Rainbow Dash told me, looking into the sky, "but it didn't really work out the way I had hoped for, so I'm looking for another way to join them, either by showing off my awesomeness at the Equestria games or by strutting my stuff to Spitfire, herself."

"I'm sure she would consider taking you in as a Wonderbolt if she saw you do stunts like that, Rainbow Dash." I smiled.

Twilight also smiled as she determined that I had made a connection with Rainbow Dash and pulled me away from her, also thanking her in the process for the work. Twilight turned to me one final time, then pointed to the last remaining pony - a cute, little, yellow Pegasus.

"You know what I want you to do, Lunar." Twilight told me.

I nodded once more, then began to approach the final Pegasus. "Hello there," I smiled, "my name is Lunar Nights. What's your name?"

The Pegasus simply his behind her long, pink mane and refused to talk to me. I took note of this and attempted to make a connection with her by complimenting her mane and tail.

"I, uh, really like your mane, Miss," I told the Pegasus, "it's very beautiful, but I'm sure you must get that a lot, right?"

The Pegasus still refused to speak. Instead, she gave off a little quivering sound and I backed away slowly. I turned to Twilight, whom was standing there, smiling at either me or this Pegasus. I turned back to the Pegasus and tried once more to make a connection with her.

"I really like your coat color," I told her, "such a smooth, flowing yellow color. I also like the way your wings look so very soft and smooth."

Still, the Pegasus hid behind their mane and refused to speak to me. Twilight noticed the struggle I was having, so she came up next to me and looked at the Pegasus, but spoke to me.

"This is Fluttershy, Lunar," Twilight told me, "and, as the end of her name suggests, she is a very shy pony."

"That explains it..." I softly spoke.

"Don't worry about not being able to make a connection with Fluttershy just yet," Twilight continued, "it took me a while for Fluttershy to open up to me, so there's no harm done if she won't speak to you just yet."

"I see what you mean, Twilight," I replied.

"Other than not being able to have a two-pony conversation with Fluttershy," Twilight smiled, turning to the other ponies, then me, "you did well in creating a connection with each of these ponies and establishing a friendship between themselves and you. You're definitely on the right path for learning the magic of friendship, Lunar, and hopefully, with the help of all of them and myself, you will be able to further your studies."

Twilight once again extended her wings as she finished up her sentence, which was still something I didn't get. What does her wings have to do with a regular old unicorn like myself anyway? She smiled, then proceeded to address me again.

"Well, Lunar," began Twilight, "for your first time trying to establish connections and build friendships with everypony, that was a spectacular first effort."

"Thank you, Twilight," I smiled, turning towards the others in the process, "and thank you for allowing me to do so."

The other four - Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack - simply smiled brightly in return, while Fluttershy hid behind her mane even further. Twilight was right; Fluttershy is indeed one very timid and shy Pegasus...I feel bad for her...that must be rough. Twilight looked over the hills behind us and noticed that the sun was setting and that the moon was slowly rising.

"Wow..." she spoke. "Nighttime is upon us already..." She yawned as she turned to face the rest of us. "I think I'm going to call it a day, everypony."

The others slowly and one-by-one began to agree with Twilight. Slowly but surely, each one of them went their separate ways and began heading back to their own respective homes. Twilight stood in the field next to me for a little while longer as I was looking up at the stars and admiring them. I loved Princess Luna's nights; I loved them more than Princess Celestia's remarkable days, honestly. Each of these stars and signs, then there's the moon...all this made me feel calm and collective on the inside and made me wonder what else there is in the infinite universe. Twilight came up by my side - I could feel her presence - and gazed up at the billions and billions of tiny stars that were in the sky with me.

"Beautiful," I smiled, "isn't it?"

"I have never really stood out and admired the night like this before, Lunar." Twilight replied.

"It's truly awe inspiring, Twilight," I continued, "it really is..."

"How so?"

"Well," I began, "for one thing, you look up and see all these stars and other signs...hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, even __trillions__ of them in this infinite universe. You see them and think how small and fragile they are, but they're not...they're millions of miles away from us, shining so brightly that we can see them from here. To know that they're that far from us and we can still see them, that makes me wonder: what else is out there? What other planets are out there for us? Other life forms? What are they like? Are they thinking the same things we are right now? Are they just like us? Or are they simply ravenous or even playful?" I paused for a quick second. "That's what I think of when I look up and see this metropolitan of stars in the sky..."

"I...never thought of it like that before, Lunar," Twilight told me, hints of fascination luring in her voice.

I looked down and at Twilight. "It's exactly how Princess Luna feels and it's exactly how she wants her subjects to view the night, not a time to gather up on sleep. She understands that perfectly, much like myself. She simply wants her subjects to bask and enjoy the glory of the night and these stars that blanket across the sky, closely being watched by ponies like Princess Luna and myself..."

"That's a very unique view of things, Lunar." Twilight softly spoke, extending and wrapping a wing around my back. I slowly began to blush as I felt the smooth, soft feathers of Twilight's wing slowly encase my entire back. I felt her shift and adjust herself so that she was now only inches away from me, rather than around a foot.

"Why, Twilight?" I quietly asked.

"Why what?" Twilight smiled, equally as quiet.

"Why did you agree to help me?"

"Princess Luna told you that I had to help you." Twilight answered.

"She actually told me that she asked you and that you agreed to before she even finished with her request." I told Twilight.

Twilight blushed a bit, and I could see it as I looked down and saw a lighter shade of pink on her cheeks. "I...heard about all the achievements and progress you have made from Princess Luna and...I wanted to meet you face-to-face..."

"You wanted to meet me?" I repeated.

"Precisely..." Twilight trailed off, twirling a strand from her mane with her hoof.

"How interesting..." I smiled.

"What do you mean?"

"I actually wanted to meet you." I explained. "We at Princess Luna's school know so much about you and what you've done over the years, but there's no visual aid for us to see what you look like. I wanted to see you very much, just to get a glimpse of what you look like and how your personality is. Let me say that I was blown away by you when I first locked eye contact with you, Princess Twilight."

Twilight blushed harder this time. "Thank you for that very meaningful comment, Lunar." She rested her head along my side as she finished that sentence. "It means a lot to me..."

 _ _You mean a lot to me...__ I thought.

Twilight and myself continued staring up at the stars for a short while longer. Eventually, Twilight fell asleep on me and was deemed done for the night. I smiled, then used my magic to carefully place Twilight on my back and take her home for the night. I walked slowly back to Twilight's home - which I remembered was the giant oak tree from before - and made sure that she got home both safe and sound.

"Sleep tight, Princess Twilight," I smiled, "you'll be home soon..."

I approached her home and slowly opened the door. I had noticed that a light was left on inside Twilight's home and began wondering if we had accidentally left the light on before we left. There was some shuffling going on upstairs before I had begun seeing a shadow coming down the stairs. The shadow belonged to that of a tiny dragon, who had spotted me with Twilight notched upon my back.

"Umm...is there a reason why Twilight is on your back?" The dragon asked.

"Ye-yeah," I stuttered, "she fell asleep on me while teaching me the ways of friendship...I'm Lunar Nights, by the way, Princess Luna's star pupil and Twilight's apprentice towards friendship. Who are you?"

"My name is Spike and I'm Twilight's number one assistant." The dragon replied.

"Assistant?" I repeated, shifting Twilight slightly. "That's peculiar."

"Yeah," continued Spike, "it is. Would you like to hear my experiences about it?"

"Sure, Spike," I smiled, "just let me put Twilight to rest on her bed first."

"Sure thing, Lunar." Spike replied. "Twilight's bed is just up the stairs."

"Thank you, Spike," I answered as I began walking up the stairs to tuck in Twilight in her bed.

* * *

"So Spike," I began, slowly trotting down the stairs after gently tucking Twilight into her bed, "you told me that you were Princess Twilight's number one assistant. How'd that come about, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Not at all, Lunar," replied Spike, whom was sitting on a chair, sipping something from a little cup, probably hot cocoa, but I wasn't too sure, "where to begin is my only question..."

"Begin from when you first met Twilight." I suggested. "I'd like to hear your whole story with her."

Spike chuckled, "Well then, that narrows it down to pretty much my whole life."

"Really?"

"Yeah," answered Spike, "I was hatched from a cute, little, purple-spotted egg by Twilight. That was her test in order to get into Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns. But, that's besides the point. I've been living with Twilight in Canterlot and here in Ponyville for my entire life. She is my family and means the world to me and I'm certain that that feeling is the same for Twilight when it comes to me."

I was amazed by Spike's synopsis as he looked up towards the area where Twilight's bed was on the second floor. He sighed, then began continuing with his synopsis.

"Over the years," Spike continued, "I've felt much love coming from Twilight. She doesn't have to take care of me, but she chooses to. I sometimes feel bad because I don't have much to offer back to Twilight but helping clean this place up, re-shelve and restock the books on all these shelves, and helping by running some errands for her and her friends. She would do just fine without me here, but I wouldn't. Like I said before, she is my only family." Spike paused for a quick second as he turned his attention back towards me. "I may have been born and hatched a dragon, but deep down, I really consider myself to be a pony, true and full."

"That was deep, Spike," I quietly replied, "really, really deep."

"Thank you, Lunar," Spike obliged, looking back up at Twilight's bed location on the second floor, "What I would give to be a pony for one day though..."

I smiled, "Tell you what, Spike, and you can trust me, for I am a pony of my word: if I find a spell that can transform anything into a pony, I will help you realize that dream of what it would be like to be one for you. That sound good, my friend?"

"You'd do that for me...?" Spike hoped.

I nodded my head in response as Spike began thanking me for my true, true statement.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Spike happily said.

I chuckled, "You're welcome, my friend."

* * *

Shortly after Spike and I engaged in conversation and got to know each other better, we had both decided to call it a night. Spike showed me a spare bed that was located right across from Twilight's bed. I was astonished to see that he offered me this bed and he went over to sleep in a little basket.

"Don't you want the bed, Spike?" I asked, unsure if I should rightfully accept the bed.

"Nah, it's okay, Lunar," Spike replied, "I never sleep in it, anyway. I always sleep in this little basket. It's more comfy for me."

I felt touched by the generosity Spike was showing. I thanked him for letting me sleep in the bed and used my magic to pull the covers over my body. Immediately thereafter, I fell soundly asleep and started dreaming within no time at all.

* * *

I saw myself in a little black void, the usual greeting I always get when I fall asleep for the night and dream. Normally, the void would disappear and I would start dreaming about something but tonight, that wasn't the case. Usually when this happens, it means that Princess Luna was about to visit me and see how I was "holding myself up," so to speak. I have a fairly decent track when it comes to being right, and this scenario was simply helping me prove that case true as I saw Princess Luna fly in from the dark void and position herself next to me.

"Good evening, Princess Luna," I smiled, hugging my mentor in the process.

"Lunar Nights, my star student, how are you?" Princess Luna asked, exchanging my hug with one of her own.

"I'm doing fine, Luna," I replied, "how are things between you and Princess Celestia?"

"Things between my sister and I are getting better," Princess Luna told me, "she is learning slowly to not overshadow me and how to share the popularity among the subjects, but this is something that simply must be learned over time, not only in a few measly days."

"I'm glad to hear that, Princess," I smiled, "it's nice to know that you and Princess Celestia are learning how to work things out together."

Princess Luna smiled. We've known each other for such an extended period of time that we pretty much trust each other by telling our hardships and tough items to each other, often times working them out together. This problem that Princess Luna is telling me about happens to be something of a behavioral issue between her and Princess Celestia. Apparently, Princess Celestia has been neglecting Princess Luna and her doings as of late and Princess Luna has been trying to resolve the issue herself. It isn't too often Princess Celestia does this kind of thing to Princess Luna – the night of the banishment of Princess Luna was the last time this has happened to be exact – but, rather than anger, Princess Luna is using her words to try and help diffuse and adjust the situation, with little tidbits of advice coming from yours' truly.

Princess Luna smiled, then proceeded with our conversation. "And how is Princess Twilight treating you, Lunar?"

I blushed as I began telling Princess Luna everything that Twilight has taught me thus far, even though we were only one day into the teachings. It only has been one day, but this has been the single most greatest day I've ever lived.

"So, Lunar," Princess Luna continued, "how is Princess Twilight treating you? I assume that she is treating you well and her lessons are informational, correct?"

"Princess Twilight is treating me fine, Princess Luna," I smiled, "and her lessons on friendship are truly inspirational."

"Oh?" Princess Luna smirked. "How so? Would you care to provide a demonstration for me?"

"I'd love to, Princess Luna," I replied, "but how would I go about that if we are the only two ponies here?"

"Try your studies on me," Princess Luna smiled, "I may already have your friendship, but I'd like to see first and foremost what Princess Twilight has taught you thus far."

"Okay, Luna..." I quietly responded. "Um...g-good evening, Your Highness, my name is-"

"Treat me as if I were any other pony, Lunar," Princess Luna told me, "if you treated me as a royal pony, then this might be a tad harder than what it really should be."

I studied Princess Luna's features and appearance, stopping squarely on her eyes. I chuckled a bit before bringing up my opinions once more.

"I don't think I can do that, Princess Luna," I spoke, "your wings and your horn, along with beautiful, flowing mane, is making me want to address you with royalty. I know I can do this if you hadn't requested me to do it – I probably __was__ doing this without even noticing it – but I simply can't see myself do this, now that you've requested it and that I'm actually _t_ _ _rying__ to do it. If you were perhaps a different pony, not including Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance, or Shining Armor, this might have worked out a bit better."

Princess Luna smiled. "Would it work better if I changed my appearance? We are in your dream, you know."

"I...guess so...maybe?" I said, unknown if that would actually work or not.

Princess Luna chuckled a bit. "Close your eyes for a quick second, my star student. Allow me to get into character."

I obeyed the request given to me by my mentor and did shut my eyes. I then heard Princess Luna's magic activate and heard a sound that was closely reminiscent of that of a cork being removed from a bottle. I didn't know what that was, so I kept my eyes shut. Shortly thereafter, I heard Princess Luna's magic slowly begin to cease and desist. Still, I kept my eyes shut. I kept them shut up until the point where Princess Luna told me that I could open my eyes.

I began to open my eyes slowly, having to blink a few times so that my vision would adjust to the light and surrounding scenery around me. Around me, Princess Luna was completely gone. Instead, there was a pony who matched my height – probably to the exact inch – that was standing right before me. This new pony – who I could only assume was Princess Luna...kind of – was a black colored pony with a black mane, having little white specks in their mane and tail. I couldn't get a glimpse at the cutie mark, but, to my best assumption, this was a pony Princess Luna transformed into in my dream (weird dream, right?).

"Is this better, Lunar?" 'Princess Luna' asked.

"Much better, Princess Luna," I replied.

"Please," 'Princess Luna' continued, "call me 'Luna.'"

"Will do..." I softly answered.

Luna smiled. "Good, now show me what Princess Twilight has taught you thus far."

I nodded at Luna, then clear my throat. "Hello there," I began, "my name is Lunar Nights. What is your name?"

"My name is Luna, Lunar." Princess Luna greeted herself. "It's very interesting how we share similar names."

"It is interesting," I smiled, "do you have any fascination of the night, Luna?"

"Why yes, I do, Lunar," Princess Luna answered, "the night is simply breathtaking and it is my job to settle in the weather during the night. How about you? Your name is Lunar; surely you must enjoy something about the night, correct?"

"You're right, Luna," I continued, "I like studying astronomy and the way constellations move within the sky. I also have been enrolled at Princess Luna's School For Enchanted Unicorns, having the lovely Princess of the Night as my mentor."

"Really?" Princess Luna gasped. "You know Princess Luna personally?"

I was just about to answer back, but Princess Luna held out her hoof and stopped me from continuing.

"That's enough, Lunar," Princess Luna told me, reverting back to her beautiful, original form, "I can see that Princess Twilight's teachings are indeed working out thus far. You have made much progress in the matter of only one day."

"Thank you, Princess Luna." I smiled.

"If you keep this pace up," Princess Luna continued, flaring her wings out for me, much like how Twilight did, "you'll be ready to continue on with your studies in no time."

I felt the void begin to shake, which meant that my "real life self" was just about to wake up for the day. Princess Luna hugged me one final time as we went our separate ways for the time being.

"Remember that you always have made me proud, Lunar." Princess Luna told me as she disappeared into the void.

I smiled and waved back at Princess Luna as she began to slowly disappear. It had been such a long time since I've physically seen her and not in my dreams, but even in my dreams did I always cherish the time Princess Luna and I had spent together. That time would truly be cherished for a long, long time, much like the time I'm currently spending with the very beautiful and very charming Princess Twilight, being taught the magic of friendship in the process, something I am sure to come to learn in full eventually. What I would like to know though is why Princess Luna __and__ Princess Twilight always flare their wings at me when they tell me about continuing on with my studies. What does their wings have to do with my continuing studies?

I tried to put that thought away as I started to wake up back in the real world for the long and exhilarating day that was just ahead of me. A pair of wings is probably going to be the least of my worries for the time being...

* * *

The next morning, I was fast asleep. Normally, I would still be asleep but, Twilight Sparkle thought otherwise apparently. I don't know if she is an early bird or something, but she had woken me up at a much earlier time than I normally would wake up.

"Wake up, sleepy head." Twilight called with a soothing and elegant voice.

I didn't want to wake up, but I also didn't want to displease my new mentor. I figured that if I showed a positive attitude, perhaps Twilight would allow me to sleep to a later part of the morning in the days that were to come.

"Wakey, wakey," continued Twilight in her soothing voice.

I smiled brightly as I kept hearing her voice. Truth be told, hearing her voice actually was putting me back to sleep, but I found enough strength to overcome my heavy head and climb out of the bed I was in.

I opened my eyes and blinked a few times in order to obtain my focus in them. I rubbed my eyes with my hooves and then began to stretch out while getting out of the bed. Looking out the window, I saw that the weather outside was very, very poor. Outside, there was a heavy storm that was ongoing. Torrential downpours and high velocity winds were causing for a very long day for staying inside, which is exactly what Twilight said we were going to do.

"I did have a few plans for you on how to learn the magic of friendship outside today but," Twilight pointed to the window and the weather that was ongoing outside, "for the sake of our safety, how about we take a day off and just relax? Does that sound good to you, Lunar?"

"It sounds wonderful, Twilight," I smiled.

"Excellent," Twilight replied, smiles as bright and as wide as ever, "do you know how to play the game of Chess, Lunar?"

"Very much so."

"Would you like to play then?" Twilight asked me.

"I'd love to, Twilight." I answered.

* * *

A while later – about five minutes, to be exact – the board and the Chess pieces were all set up. I allowed Twilight to go first, being the gentleman that I was. Twilight smiled, then began moving one of her pawns two spaces forward with her magic. I performed the same act, opposite side of the board and mirroring Twilight's play, with one of my pawns with my magic. This went back and forth for a while – my mirroring of Twilight's moves, that is – while Twilight started stirring up some conversation, probably trying to get to know me a little bit more. I didn't really tell her about myself that much – my name, my place of origin, my occupation – and so I wanted to change that while I was staying here in Ponyville.

"So, Lunar," Twilight began as she moved her knight, "how did you learn about Princess Luna's School For Enchanted Unicorns?"

"Well," I began, mirroring the way Twilight moved her knight, "I learned about Princess Luna's school from herself actually."

"What do you mean?"

"As I was registering for Princess Celestia's school so many years ago," I answered, "I saw Princess Luna and saw how sad she was. I approached her and asked her what was bothering her and she answered back, 'All the unicorns in Equestria would rather enroll in my sister's school than in mine.' I remember feeling extremely bad for her and opted to enroll in her school instead, claiming her as my mentor. Since then, many more unicorns have chosen Princess Luna's school instead of Princess Celestia's school."

"So," Twilight smiled, moving another one of her pawns, "you're the one who got Princess Luna's school on the hypothetical ball and caused it to become what it is today then, right?"

"I mean I guess so..." I blushed, moving one of my pawns, "I wouldn't say that entirely, though. Her school was bound to gain popularity eventually, right?"

"I don't know, Lunar," Twilight responded, moving her Queen, "no disrespect to Princess Luna, but she isn't really understood well by everypony. They still fear her for being Nightmare Moon, not embracing her for being Princess Luna."

I was shocked. I could never guess that Twilight would say anything like that, especially about Princess Luna. So what if Princess Luna has issues with gaining everypony's trust. It's not her fault. So what if she may be misunderstood. It's not her fault either. I think I may be starting a tear on ranting...rather be better to stop myself now rather than to continue with saying and doing things that I'll soon end up regretting...

I put the ranting aside for now and moved my Queen just like how Twilight did. Things felt a bit odd with the amount of silence there were between Twilight and myself so, in an attempt to "break the ice," so to speak, I began asking Twilight another question that had no relation to Princess Luna or her school.

"So, Twilight," I spoke, "tell me, how is it like being a...umm..."

"An alicorn?" Twilight finished for me, moving her bishop three diagonal spaces towards the left.

"Yeah, an alicorn." I responded, mirroring the same exact move again.

"Being an alicorn is fun, Lunar," Twilight answered, moving her other knight, "granted, there are days where I miss just being a unicorn, but having wings isn't all that bad."

"What do you mean?" I asked, mirroring Twilight's move yet again.

"Well," Twilight smiled, moving another pawn, "having wings makes things easier when it comes to traveling...now I can fly anywhere I wish to go."

"That sounds interesting," I replied, moving a pawn myself, but not mirroring Twilight's move, "tell me more."

"Sure, Lunar," Twilight obliged, moving her rook, "being an alicorn means I have some royal duties to perform myself. Those royal duties are classified information – security purposes – but, nonetheless, my life hasn't really changed all that much. I still adore the friendships I have crafted with everypony here in Ponyville and I still manage to find time to spend with them. I guess...I'm content with my life thus far."

I smiled, mirroring Twilight's move and capturing one of her pawns, as Twilight spoke very faintly under her breath something else.

"Especially now that you're here." She faintly whispered, not raising her head while saying that. I pretended not to hear that comment as the rousing game of chess stirred onward.

 _ _She feels the same way, then...__ I thought as Twilight captured my rook.

We continued chatting and smiling, breaking silent stints with our words and small talk. It was extravagant to finally get a chance to actually get to know Twilight and an honor, really.

* * *

"Checkmate." Twilight told me, moving her final rook in front of my king piece, trapping me from doing anything else.

"So it seems, Twilight," I smiled, looking up into her beautiful violet eyes, "'twas an invigorating match, Twilight, and I thank you for it."

"The pleasure is all mine, Lunar." Twilight replied, using her magic to put the board and the pieces away.

I smiled again as I looked around the room. Outside still had a storm that was brewing, appearing to not want to stop at any point in the near future. Twilight put the box away with her magic, putting it on a shelf next to some of her other books. She looked back into my eyes as I did to her and we began stirring up some more conversation.

"May I ask you another question, Twilight?" I asked.

"You most certainly may, Lunar," She soothingly replied back.

I absolutely loved the way she answered my requests with plenty of sophistication and a very soothing and elegant voice. She was perfect in my eyes and I cherished all the time we had spent together, especially today while playing chess. I blushed very slightly, then proceeded to ask Twilight my question.

"You keep flaring your wings at me when saying 'If you wish to further your studies,'" I began, "what do wings have to do with my studies? I am a unicorn, not a Pegasus or an...alicorn, like yourself..."

"Well," Twilight smiled, "you'll find out soon enough," she flared out her wings at me once more, "when you have proven yourself that you are ready to move on."

I chuckled a bit. "You purposely did that, didn't you?"

"Perhaps," Twilight buoyantly smirked, "I am not allowed to tell you what lies ahead in the path of your studies. I am only supposed to guide you to that path and that is that."

"I guess that seems fair..." I smiled, locking eye contact with Twilight, mesmerized by her beautiful, beautiful eyes.

Twilight blushed, as did I, as I slowly began to let a hoof approach Twilight's hoof and touch it. Twilight looked down at my hoof, which was now resting upon her own hoof, then back up at me. We stared at each other for a few moments, then slowly began to lean in towards each other. We slowly approached each others' heads and closed our eyes just as slowly. I puckered up my lips, prepared to kiss Twilight, but the moment was cut off when Spike came down the stairs.

"Hey, Twilight," Spike called.

Twilight became surprised, as did I, causing us to bump each others' heads in the process. I rubbed my head, as did Twilight, as we tried to ease the piercing headache we just gave each other. Spike was confused and began asking Twilight another question.

"Was I, uhh, interrupting something?" Spike questioned, heading straight for the kitchen.

"Uhh, n-no, Spike," Twilight uncomfortably answered. "You're fine...we weren't doing anything."

Twilight looked back into my eyes and blushed slightly again. I did the same and blushed slightly, forgiving Spike for interrupting the one perfect moment Twilight and I had shared while I had been here. Twilight got up and went over to check on Spike while I got up and proceeded towards one of the shelves that was next to me.

I skimmed the shelf for a book to read. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just for something that had captured my attention. Along the shelf, I noticed a diary type of book that appeared to be fairly new. I was about to pull it off the shelf and look at it when Twilight had trotted back into the room at approximately the same time. She noticed me looking at the shelf and noticed that the diary had caught my eye. She approached me and stood right next to me, explaining the origins and the details about the diary that was on the shelf.

"That book," Twilight spoke, "we found it inside Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's old castle within the Everfree Forest. Along with myself, the other five ponies – Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy – all write down our learnings inside of it for others to learn from us, even generations from now. Right now, only the first few pages have lessons in them but, in the future, I really hope that these pages are clustered with lessons upon lessons for future ponies to read and learn from...that's my dream someday..."

"That sounds like a very positive dream, Twilight," I smiled, "my dream is to one day find the mare of my dreams and start a family with her..."

"That sounds like a wonderful dream, Lunar," Twilight blushed, "and...you may not have to travel far to fulfill that dream..."

Twilight looked back into my eyes and blushed slightly. I looked into her eyes and blushed as well, locking eye contact with her once more. We stared into the depths of our eyes for a few more moments, then slowly began to lean in towards one another once more, slowly closing our eyes again. Once more, I puckered up my lips, prepared to kiss Twilight, but was once again cut off. This time, a knock from the door ruined the perfect moment.

Twilight looked towards the door, as did I, as we began to wonder who could be at the door during a storm such as this one. She walked over towards the door and began opening it up, revealing a familiar face to the two of us that was standing in the doorway.

"Oh," Twilight smiled, "I didn't know you were coming today! You rarely come to visit, Princess Luna."

In the doorway stood the Princess of the Night herself, an act that surprised both Twilight and myself. She came inside, courtesy of Twilight, then turned to us both.

"I just thought that I would see up front and close the two of you..." Princess Luna smiled, turning to face me. "My star pupil," she then turned to Twilight, "...and my sister's used-to-be star pupil...two star pupils whom were destined to be together this very moment."

That last thing Princess Luna said got me to blush a bit. I knew what she meant, but I took it in an entirely different way...

 _ _I don't know about that, Princess...__ I thought. __I'd like Princess Cadance to say so herself...__

"I just wanted to see my star pupil and my sister's former star pupil together in the act." Princess Luna smiled, repeating herself again.

"That's quite a surprise, Princess Luna," smiled Twilight, "but I've opted to take a day off, considering the conditions outside are too poor for us to proceed in the learnings." Twilight turned towards me. "Besides," she continued, "I wanted to get to know him a little bit better."

I blushed a bit, rubbing the back of my neck with my front hoof. "I'm not all that, Princess Twilight, really, I'm not. I'm just your average, run-of-the-mill type of unicorn."

Twilight came up next to me and wrapped one of her wings around my body. "You are anything but a regular unicorn," she told me.

I looked down towards her and smiled. I so desperately wanted to kiss her this very moment - and I could tell that she wanted to do the same - but I restricted myself from doing so while Princess Luna was in our presence. Instead, Twilight and myself exchanged some smiles before separating ourselves from each other. Once she did, I turned my attention back towards Princess Luna.

"So, Princess," I started while Twilight excused herself for a second to check up on something in the other room, "did what I recommend work out between you and Princess Celestia?"

"At this current moment, things look to be fixing themselves just fine." Princess Luna responded. "I figured that I give her time to think about it, which is why I came here." She then checked to see if Twilight had come back yet, which she had not. Princess Luna then neared me and began whispering to me. "How are Princess Twilight's teaching methods? I know we talked about them last night, but I want to be sure of myself."

"Her teaching methods are superb and inspirational." I whispered in reply. "I was but a shy and independent pony before I met Twilight and, in only one day, I've been able to make such a big jump down the right path in my studies."

Princess Luna smiled. "I see you both are taking to a liking for each other as well." I blushed a bit while Princess Luna continued. "I may not be able to do what Princess Cadance does, but I can see it based off of how both of you act towards each other."

"I don't know, Princess," I continued, looking back to see if Twilight was still absent, "she's a Princess and I'm a just like any other subject."

"And that has to do with what, exactly?" Princess Luna asked. "That's just status ranking in society. Take those away, and she's no better than you are and vice versa. Perhaps you should go see Princess Cadance and get a better understanding of the magic of love, which could help your studies as well, seeing how one must have some sort of love in order to develop a bond in the magic of friendship."

"That sounds like an idea, Princess Luna," I smiled, while Twilight came back from the other room, "but how will I get her to agree to that?"

"Agree to what?" Twilight smiled as she approached Princess Luna and myself. "And what were you whispering about?"

"Oh, nothing, Princess Twilight," Princess Luna smiled, "I was just telling Lunar here that he should seek Princess Cadance's advice on friendship as well. You're a wonderful mentor, from what I've heard Lunar tell me about you, but I believe that to experience the love of friendship truly, you both should pay Princess Cadance a visit. I'm sure she'll show you something that will prove to be helpful to both of you."

"You know, Luna," Twilight smiled, "that sounds like a magnificent idea." Twilight turned to me. "And I'm sure our friends would love to take a trip to the Crystal Empire, wouldn't you say?"

"I think a trip to the Crystal Empire would be beneficial to only you two, Princess Twilight," Luna offered, "I'm sure your friends would understand."

"Only visit the Crystal Empire with Lunar, Luna?" Twilight asked, chuckling a bit after saying our very similar names, back-to-back. Luna replied with a simple nod. Twilight then turned towards me. "Does that sound fine with you?"

"I don't have a reason to object, Princess," I replied.

"Then, do you want to visit Princess Cadance now?" Twilight asked me. "We're not really doing anything today, so why not visit her to spend the day together?"

I turned to Princess Luna, whom had replied with a silent nod. I turned back towards Twilight and answered her brightly. "Why not?" I answered. "I could use a little walk to dust off these old hooves. Plus, I've never physically __seen__ the Crystal Empire before, so why not?"

"Well then," Twilight continued, "to the Crystal Empire!"

I smiled, as did Luna, who had seen the excitement both Twilight and myself had about going to the Crystal Empire. I was excited because, like I said earlier, I've never physically seen the empire before. I've heard numerous rumors that it is the brightest, most fantastic and stunning place you'll ever see, so I would like to see that for myself. Princess Luna thanked Twilight for letting her come inside and visit us, then excused herself with an excuse stating that Princess Celestia is requesting her. It was most likely a little fib, but nonetheless, Twilight bought it. Princess Luna then left afterwards, leaving only Twilight and myself preparing for our trip to the Crystal Empire.

All alone...by ourselves...in a magical place...

Next to being enrolled at Princess Luna's school, this is a dream come true!

"I don't think we'll need to pack anything, Lunar," Twilight told me when she noticed me putting on my saddlebags.

"I'm not packing anything, Twilight," I replied, revealing my lucky charm to her – the moon figurine, "I'm only taking my good luck charm."

Twilight idolized the moon figurine I had revealed to her. "That's a very beautiful carving of the moon, Lunar!"

"Thank you, Twilight," I smiled, "I always carry this around because, when I do, good things always happen to me, like when I met you..." I slowly blushed before continuing on a bit further. "...That wasn't just a stroke of luck, you know..."

"Oh," Twilight giggled, melting my heart a bit, "I know, Lunar, and I feel the same way."

This trip to the Crystal Empire was definitely going to be worth it if it meant I got to be alone for real with Twilight, spending the day with only her and whatnot.

* * *

"Look, Lunar," Twilight told me, "there's the train that leads to the Crystal Empire."

"Boy," I chuckled, "the Friendship Express sure leads everywhere in Equestria, doesn't it?"

Twilight turned to me. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well," I continued, looking back at Twilight, "the Friendship Express runs all the way from the Crystal Empire to Manehattan and from Baltimare to San Franciscolt. I'd say that's a pretty large range of Equestria, wouldn't you?"

"I guess so..." Twilight replied, scratching her lovely chin with her hoof. I smiled in response before the train had stopped in front of us. The doors to the coaches opened up, letting off a few ponies, before Twilight and myself stepped into the coach ourselves.

"Where do you want to sit?" Twilight asked me, showing a bunch of seats in front of us.

I smiled and "shrugged" my hooves. "Wherever you want to sit, my...I mean, Princess Twilight..."

Twilight giggled yet again. I honestly loved it when she giggled...it showed her sweet and innocent self. "You know you don't have to call me Princess, Lunar," she told me, "just Twilight is fine enough."

I rubbed the back of my neck with my hoof. "Yeah," I blushed, "I kind of forgot about that..." I gave off a sheepish chuckle as Twilight tilted her head slightly and smiled brightly, showing me her beautifully white-toothed smile. She turned towards one of the seats about midway into the coach and sat down next to the window. I followed her lead and took a seat right next to her. Looking around the coach, I noticed that we were alone and that there was no other pony around us at all. I looked back at Twilight, then looked down at her lovely purple hoof. Twilight was looking out the window, and I began motioning a hoof slowly over towards her's.

I gently touched Twilight's hoof, getting her to look into my eyes and blush very slightly. I felt myself begin to blush and lightly chuckle a bit. We stared into each others eyes for a while. I became lost inside her luscious violet eyes and became shrouded with happy thoughts, all of which were about Twilight.

I felt myself begin to lean in to Twilight's face. I slowly began to close my eyes and began puckering up my lips. I wrapped a hoof around Twilight's neck and slowly began kissing her on her lips, a moment that was truly greatly lived. It has felt like time simply had come to a halt while I passionately kissed Twilight on her beautiful lips. I did not want to pull myself away, but after about a minute of exchanging meaningful kisses between Twilight and myself, we had finally pulled ourselves away from each other, slowly opening our eyes.

Twilight was blushing a little bit brighter rose color. She began twirling one of the strands in her mane with her hoof, lightly giggling a bit. "That was magical, Lunar..." she told me. "Where did you learn how to kiss like that?"

"A lifetime of waiting for the right mare made that kiss a bit better than expected, Twilight." I replied.

Twilight blushed an even brighter rose color as I finished that response. "You are something else, Lunar," she smiled, half-shutting her eyes and sliding closer to me, "you do know that, right?" She then began to wrap a wing around my body as she leaned in on my body, resting against it.

"How so?" I smirked.

"You are the nicest unicorn I've ever met, Lunar," Twilight continued, "you know just what to do to make me happy, even when you don't say anything."

"Maybe you'll get to see some more of the kindness later on..." I replied.

"What do you mean?" Twilight quietly asked.

I looked down at Twilight and rested my head on top of hers, mainly around her horn. "You may be in for a surprise later on, my pretty little Princess."

" _ _My__ pretty little Princess?" Twilight repeated.

I lightly chuckled again as the train continued puffing down the tracks. Twilight was still resting herself against my body as I began to pay attention to the scenery outside that was passing by. Eventually, Twilight fell asleep against my body and I prepared myself for something very meaningful that I was planning on doing a little bit later, after I had a little talk with Princess Cadance.

 _ _Prepare yourself, Princess Twilight,__ I told myself, looking down at her, __you'll be in for a surprise later on today...__

I looked out the window and saw that we were entering the Crystal Empire. From afar, I could see the luxurious Crystal Castle, a sight that was truly one to be seen. I had never seen anything like it before, a tall and well architected chrome building, and was ready to see Princess Cadance. I looked back into the coach and laid my eyes on Twilight, whom was still fast asleep against my body. Twilight looked so peaceful sleeping against me, I truly did not want to wake her, but when the train came to a stop at the station, I gently and smoothly began to wake her up.

"Princess Twilight," I whispered in her ear, "we've arrived at the Crystal Empire."

I saw some eye blinking, then a little bit of yawning as Twilight slowly woke up. She rubbed her eyes gently for a couple of seconds, then looked out of the window.

"Well what do you know," Twilight smiled. She turned back to me, "we are here..."

Twilight took her wing away from me and put it against her side, getting up and standing before me, stretching a bit. She turned to me, cocking her head to the side and showing me her beautiful smile at me.

"Come along, Lunar," she softly spoke, "let's go see Princess Cadance and Shining Armor."

"After you, Twilight," I smiled in response, holding out a hoof to her.

Twilight smiled a bit brighter as she took my hoof and helped me up off of the seat. We exited the train car and walked through the station to the exit into the Crystal Empire.

"Have you ever met Princess Cadance before?" Twilight asked me as we walked trough the station.

"Only one other time," I replied. "She was in Canterlot visiting while I was taking a test for Princess Luna."

"Have you ever had a conversation with her?" Twilight continued.

"No," I answered, "I haven't. I've only seen her but have never had a conversation with her. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Twilight responded.

I chuckled a bit as we came close to the exit to the station. I grabbed a hold of the door with my magic and opened it up for Twilight. Twilight smiled, thanking me for my kindness, and exited the station with me following closely behind her. Outside the station, I saw that the streets of the Crystal Empire were filled with tons of the legendary Crystal ponies, all of them happy and beaming with such delight. I have never seen real life Crystal ponies before, only in my books that contained the history of this fascinating empire, dating way before King Sombra's rule of it. I looked around high and low and admired every little detail about this place. Twilight looked over and chuckled slightly as she saw my face of excitement and my sporadic movement, in terms of my eyes and head.

"These Crystal ponies all use their happiness and love that's inside each one of them to power up the Crystal Heart," Twilight told me.

I looked down at her. "What's the Crystal Heart?" I asked.

"The Crystal Heart is the only item for defense for the Crystal Empire," Twilight continued, "without it, anypony could simply come in and try to take over the Empire, much like how King Sombra tried doing. If love and happiness is what fills up the Crystal Heart, then that feeling is spread throughout all of Equestria."

I smiled and began wondering how something like the Crystal Heart could transfer over happiness and love throughout all of Equestria. That truly boggled the mind.

"However," alerted Twilight, "if hatred and fear take over and dominate the Crystal Heart..."

She never truly finished that sentence and statement, but I could only imagine what would happen, should hatred and fear consume the Crystal Heart. We turned down the main road - which led all the way to the Crystal Castle - and saw many other happy Crystal ponies filling the streets and shopping around in one of the nearby marketplaces. The Crystal Empire was a luxurious and beautiful place, I'm glad I was getting the chance to see it, and I'm especially happy that I'm getting to see it for the first time with Twilight.

As we neared the Crystal Castle, I noticed a little column that dropped down from the bottom of the castle, to the street, containing something in the middle between two spears. Twilight told me that that was the Crystal Heart that was on display in the middle between the two spears and told me that the love and happiness of the Crystal ponies was making it glow brightly at the current moment.

"You know a whole lot about the Crystal Empire, Twilight," I said to her, "would you have ruled it if Princess Cadance didn't?"

"I don't know about that, Lunar," Twilight blushed, "Princess Cadance is a great leader, but I don't think I could rule this place like she does now."

I smiled, cocking my head slightly to my right side, as Twilight began to bring me to the entrance to the Crystal Castle. Before we could go inside the castle, however, the doors opened up and there, standing in said doorway, was the lovely Princess Cadance herself.

"Cadance!" Twilight called.

Princess Cadance smiled and looked over towards Twilight. "Twilight!" responded Cadance, stepping outside and hugging Twilight. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake."

"Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Twilight laughed as she performed a little fiasco in front of me with Princess Cadance.

"I had heard from Princess Luna that you were probably going to pay a visit." Princess Cadance remarked. "The train must have come early today too. I was just on my way to go meet you at the train station but, here you are." She turned her attention towards me. "You must be Lunar Nights," she continued.

"That is right, Your Highness," I replied, bowing in the process, "and it is an honor to rightfully meet you this time."

"The pleasure is all mine, Lunar," Princess Cadance continued, "Princess Luna has told me a lot about you. Perhaps we can chat a little bit later about your learnings."

"That would be wonderful, Princess Cadance." I smiled as I replied with confidence.

"Do you know where Shining Armor is, Cadance?" asked Twilight. "I need to ask him something about our parents' anniversary that's soon coming up."

"Shining Armor is inside his room in the castle." Princess Cadance replied. "You can head in there if you want while I have a talk with Lunar here."

"Sounds good," smiled Twilight as she disappeared inside the Crystal Castle, leaving only me and Princess Cadance together. Princess Cadance then paid her attention towards me.

"So," she began, "the infamous Lunar Nights, star student of Princess Luna...I can sense a great amount of care and affection towards a certain somepony you know...somepony you met mere days ago, no less."

"You're good," I chuckled.

Princess Cadance smiled. "I'm the Princess of Love, Lunar," she told me, "I can see this easily."

"So who's the somepony that I have a great amount of care and affection towards?" I challenged, half-knowing that Princess Cadance already knew that answer.

"The very special somepony you show much care and affection to happened to be the last pony that walked through those doors behind me, on her way visiting her older brother and my husband." Princess Cadance told me.

"You're good," I commended again.

"Like I said earlier, Lunar," Princess Cadance continued, "I know these kinds of things and, simply only letting you know, you both seem like a perfect match together."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about, Your Highness," I replied, twirling one of my hooves on the ground in front of me.

"You can call me Cadance," Princess Cadance said, "it's okay, Lunar."

"Well Cadance," I continued, "I wanted to talk about Twilight with you..."

"What do you want to discuss about her?" Cadance asked me, cocking her head slightly towards her right side a bit.

"I...uhh..." I troubled. I couldn't seem to find the way I wanted to say this towards Princess Cadance at the current moment, but she knew exactly what I wanted to say, and she knew it before I did.

"You want to proclaim your love to Twilight, but aren't sure of how to do it, sound right?"

"Right on the nose, Cadance," I chuckled, looking over towards the recently met Princess.

"Come, Lunar," Cadance smiled to me, "let us both take a walk. I have something important to tell you along the way."

With that being said, Princess Cadance began walking along one of the crystallized streets. I followed alongside her, prepared to have a chat with her as well. Cadance smiled, looking slightly up to the brightly colored sky, then back down to me.

"How much do you like Twilight, Lunar?" Cadance asked me.

I gulped. "Uh...a-a lot, Cadance..."

"What exactly do you like about her?"

"What isn't there to like about Princess Twilight..." I smiled. "She's smart, funny, charming, innocent, beautiful, petite, and caring of her friends and everypony..."

"And now, describe yourself before and after meeting Twilight."

"Before meeting Twilight," I began, looking slightly down in the process, "I was a shy, independent unicorn that refrained from making contact with anypony else as much as I could. After meeting Twilight, I learned that that wasn't the way to go. Twilight has taught and has been teaching me the ways of friendship and has brought out my true potential."

"What do you mean?" asked a bewildered Cadance.

"I now know that friendship and being social is one of the many joys of life," I answered. "Had Twilight not shown me that or had Princess Luna not sent me to learn from Twilight, I would still be back in my home in Baltimare only reading and studying my books."

"I'm sure two ponies would love to hear that from you themselves." Cadance told me.

"Twilight and Princess Luna, right?" I asked, making sure both Cadance and I were on the same page.

Cadance replied with a simple nod. "Precisely. And perhaps you should tell Twilight your true feelings for her."

I blushed very slightly. "Do you think she'll feel the same way back?"

"Lunar, love isn't about thinking," Cadance advised, "it's about feeling and doing. If you think about it, you'll start getting plenty of negative moods and reactions that will put you down. But, if you feel confident that she'll feel the same way and do ask her, then there's only one way to find out."

I took Princess Cadance's words of wisdom into consideration. Perhaps I was overthinking this entire process. I held my head up high, thanked Princess Cadance, and turned back towards the Crystal Castle.

"Going to go tell her?" Cadance asked me.

"Precisely that, Princess." I replied.

"Then allow me to accompany you and show you where she is." Princess Cadance smiled.

"Thank you very much, Cadance." I said, looking up towards the top of the Crystal Castle.

Princess Cadance smiled brighter, then escorted me inside the castle.

* * *

"This is Shining Armor's private room in the castle. Most likely, Twilight is in there as well. I'll get Shining Armor to leave the room, leaving only you and Twilight to talk about how you both feel."

"Thank you, Princess Cadance," I smiled, watching Cadance open the door to Shining Armor's private room, revealing him and Twilight talking to each other.

Cadance entered into the room, and approached Shining Armor, kissing him on his cheek. She pulled herself back, softly asking if he could assist her with something else elsewhere in the castle. Shining Armor gladly agreed to help Cadance out as both ponies turned around and began walking out of the room. Before leaving us, Cadance looked over towards me and winked at me. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance then left the room, leaving only Twilight with me. Twilight smiled at my presence, then began to approach me.

"I wonder what that was about..." she smiled.

"I don't know." I replied, losing myself inside Twilight's beautiful purple eyes.

"So..." Twilight continued, slowly losing her chain of thought as she stared into my eyes.

"Uh...Tw-Twilight?" I began.

"Yes, Lunar?" Twilight smiled, half-shutting her eyes and fluttering them at me.

I loved that about Twilight. She always knew just how to melt my heart and make me happy about everything about anything. I collected myself, then finally continued talking to Twilight. "Umm...there's something I've been wanting to tell you, Twilight."

"Oh?" Twilight said, raising an eyebrow. "And what might that be?"

"Uh...P-Princess T-Twilight," I stammered, "I...uhh..."

Twilight came up to me and wrapped a hoof around my head, bringing it down to her lips. She then kissed me with the utmost of affection, catching me a little off guard, but, nonetheless, having me follow in her lead. I closed my eyes, which were temporarily stuck in a shocked matter, and wrapped a hoof around Twilight's body, bringing her a bit closer to me and pressing her body up against mine. We had exchanged meaningful, and heavily lovable kisses between each other and, by my standards, sparks were flying the entire time. I almost didn't want to pull myself away from Twilight, but after about a minute of us exchanging kisses, we finally pulled away from each other. I opened my eyes slowly as Twilight did the same. She looked up at me with half-shut eyes as I looked down into her beautiful purple eyes.

"Princess Twilight," I softly spoke, "will you make me the happiest unicorn in all of Equestria?"

"What do you mean, Lunar?" Twilight giggled, melting my heart even further.

"Twilight," I continued, gently resting my head on Twilight's head, "will you be my mare?"

"Are you asking your mentor out, Lunar?" Twilight giggled some more, melting my heart a bit more.

"I most certainly am, Princess Twilight," I replied, snatching a kiss upon Twilight's forehead.

"In that case," Twilight said, fluttering her eyes at me when I pulled myself back, "I'd love to be your mare. Just one thing, Lunar."

"And what might that be, Twilight?" I asked.

Twilight smiled, "I want you to be my colt."

"Consider it done, Your Highness," I joked, bowing to Twilight in the process.

"So I guess that means we're a legitimate couple, Lunar," Twilight chuckled as I got up from my bow.

"I guess so, Twilight," I replied, "just one condition, though."

"And what might that be, Lunar?" Twilight replicated, matching the way I asked my question moments earlier.

I chuckled. "I get to be the coltfriend."

Twilight smiled, then gave me a kiss upon my lips, which I exchanged for one on hers. "Then I guess that means that I'm the marefriend, Lunar."

"Which is fine by me, Twilight," I smiled.

Twilight turned towards the door and wrapped one of her wings around my body. It was a bit weird, seeing how I was taller than Twilight and that her wing didn't fully reach around my body, but I enjoyed its presence there. Twilight motioned towards the door and I took the hint. Twilight was suggesting that we leave the room and go meet up with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. I guess she didn't get to finish her conversation with Shining Armor from earlier.

"Let's go meet up with them, Lunar," Twilight told me.

"After you, my pretty little alicorn." I smiled, using my magic to open the slightly heavy door to the hallway. Twilight smiled, thanked me for my kindness, then walked out into the hallway, closely followed by me.

In the hallway, towards our left, Twilight and I both saw Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. The two of them began approaching us, which is what we were also doing, thus, meeting them halfway. Twilight asked Shining Armor if he was able to help out with what Princess Cadance needed, which he replied positively, as they continued on with their conversation from earlier. I, on the other hoof, looked at Princess Cadance and had nothing but positive looks on my face, which Princess Cadance could read like a book. She gave me a smile in return and could tell that things had worked out, seeing how we were both happier than when we went inside the room earlier and by Twilight's visible wing trying to wrap itself around my body. Soon enough, Shining Armor asked Twilight to assist him in his private room alone for a quick moment, leaving me alone with Princess Cadance. Once the door to Shining Armor's private room had shut, Princess Cadance and myself began engaging in conversation once more.

So it all worked out then?" Princess Cadance asked me.

"Twilight just made me the happiest unicorn in Equestria not too long ago," I smiled in response, "so I'd say that everything worked out swinningly, Princess Cadance."

"Glad to hear that, Lunar," Cadance continued, "you two seem like a perfect couple and are sure to be very happy for a very long time."

"Thank you, Princess Cadance," I smiled as I turned back to face the door that housed my beautiful little alicorn marefriend.

* * *

 _ **~Meanwhile, in Shining Armor's private room~**_

"So what is it that you needed help with, Shining Armor?" Twilight asked her BBBFF.

Shining Armor turned to his younger sister after locking the door behind him. He had a discerned look in his eyes and appeared to have something bothering him. He wasn't like this before when he spoke with Twilight no less than fifteen minutes ago, but within those fifteen minutes, a lot has happened and it was perfectly visible to both him and Princess Cadance, with Cadabce having accepted what had happened - as the Princess of Love always would - but him not sure as of now.

"I don't know, Twily," Shining Armor quietly spoke, so that Lunar and Cadance couldn't hear them.

"You don't know about what?" Twilight asked, cocking her head to the side slightly.

"You had your wing wrapped around that unicorn, Twily," Shining Armor claimed, walking right up to his younger sister, "I think I know what that means."

"What?" Twilight said, shuffling backwards slightly. "Lunar and I? Yes my wing was around him...I'm sure once he gets his - whenever that may be - he would have done it to me. Cadance does it to you all the time, Shining Armor. What difference is it if I do it to Lunar?"

"That's because Cadance and I are __married__ ," Shining Armor asserted, "it's different when you're married, Twilight."

"So," continued Twilight, taking and handling the ropes here for a moment, "you don't approve of what I am doing, is that so?"

"I...I just want to make sure that you're okay, Twily," Shining Armor defended himself, "I'm not too sure about this unicorn."

"What's not to be sure about, Shining Armor?" Twilight asked. "He's Princess Luna's prized protégé. I'm more than certain you can trust him."

"Anypony can be a prized protégé, Twilight," Shining Armor said.

"Not exactly," interrupted Twilight.

Shining Armor rolled his eyes slightly, "Nevertheless, certain ponies can only be trusted. I know as a Prince that this is something I shouldn't say, but it is the harsh reality that not everypony can be trusted and, to me, I'm not sure if I can trust that unicorn just yet..." Some eerie silence fell after that for a quick moment before Shining Armor continued. "What do your friends think of him?" He asked.

Twilight turned her head slightly, trying to fight back some ghoulish tears. "They all like and trust him, Shining Armor," she finally answered back, "he earned all their trust on the first day he met them. They like him and he likes them." Twilight turned back towards her older brother, still answering his question. "For somepony who has never really had a friend in their life, he made five of them on the spot, making it look ever so easy...I predict that he will be able to move on in his studies very soon..."

Twilight sighed slightly, looking towards a nearby bookcase On that bookcase, there stood a book. Twilight had recognized this book and remembered something about it. The book she was looking at was Princess Cadance's version of Star Swirl the Bearded's spell book. She took it down, then flipped open the book to the last page with her magic, noticing that the page was empty and did not contain the spell Twilight had completed, thus transforming her into an alicorn and giving her her very own set of Pegasus wings. Shining Armor came up next to Twilight, bringing her closer to his side. He looked down at the page, then smiled.

"I have no doubts that he'll continue his studies," Shining Armor softly spoke, "he truly is a smart and outgoing pony. I'm just worried about you, Twily, that's all."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, still looking at the incomplete spell.

"I guess it's an older brother kind of thing," Shining Armor chuckled, "but I care about how happy you are and I care about your safety. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I won't get hurt," Twilight said, looking up towards Shining Armor, "he's different. He isn't like any other colt I've met before."

"I'm sure he isn't, Twily," Shining Armor smiled, hugging Twilight in the process.

Twilight paid her attention back towards the incomplete spell in the book after the hug, slowly sighing.

"...from all of us together, together we are friends." Twilight reiterated, reciting the rest of the spell that wasn't inside this particular book. "With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end."

Shining Armor looked away while Twilight placed the book back on the shelf. She turned to him, not a smile on her face, but nary a frown neither.

"I do hope he understands friendship like that." Twilight heeded.

"What makes you say that?" Shining Armor replied.

"I sense that he doesn't trust ponies the way a true, true friend would," answered Twilight, "possibly from lack of friends and acquaintances from his earlier years."

Shining Armor chuckled. "Sounds like a certain somepony I know." He playfully shoved Twilight in the process. Twilight chuckled, turning around to her BBBFF.

"Hey now," smiled Twilight, "I trust everypony."

"Now you do." Shining Armor teased. "When you were only a filly, that was a different story."

Twilight blushed slightly, thinking back to when she was a mere filly.

* * *

 _"You really should make some friends, Twilight. You know I won't be here for you forever, nor will mom and dad." A young Shining Armor spoke from wisdom._

 _"Why?" A young Twilight stubbornly asked. "The only friends I need are my books and you, Shining Armor."_

 _"All those books won't help you when you're feeling down or when you want to talk to somepony. It's best if you make some friends."_

 _"But I don't want to make friends. I'm happy just the way I am."_

 _"Then why do you attend Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns, Twilight?"_

 _"To learn about magic, silly!"_

 _"You know there's more to magic than just spells, books, and history, Twilight."_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _Shining Armor chuckled. "You'll find out eventually."_

* * *

"I'm sure he'll figure out the spell soon." Twilight told Shining Armor as they both started making their way out of Shining Armor's private room and into the hallway to go meet up with Princess Cadance and Lunar.

* * *

 _ **~Back with Princess Cadance and Lunar~**_

"Explain to me what friendship means to you, Lunar." Cadance told me.

"Friendship is magic," I replied, "it is the way of life that I have been introduced to and can solely say that it is truly magical. I have seen the light of way and am truly blessed that Twilight has opened myself up to friendship. It is now what I strongly believe in and what I will strive for for the remainder of my days. I thank her for showing me it, and I thank Princess Luna for suggesting that I travel to Ponyville to see and meet Princess Twilight. If not for me receiving the letter, none of this would have ever happened."

I felt a sort of white light begin to consume my body shortly thereafter. I wasn't too sure what that was all about, but Princess Cadance seemed to know. She was all smiles, overlooking me, but when Twilight and Shining Armor came into the room Cadance and I were in, the light that was consuming me had vanished. Cadance was shocked, as was Twilight and even Shining Armor. I didn't see the need to be so alarmed, so I thought nothing more of that light, quickly moving on from it. The other three, however, couldn't get why the light disappeared.

"What's the big idea?" I asked them. "It was only a light; nothing special really. What gives?"

The other three simply exchanged looks with each other, giving me a slightly cold shoulder. I looked at Cadance, then shifted my attention over towards Shining Armor. The two of them exchanged looks before I turned my attention towards Twilight. I tried my best to not let not knowing what had happened to me not bother me, but my voice said otherwise.

"Twilight," I spoke with no emotion, "what was that light? Why are you three ogling over that light. What was that?"

Even Twilight stood silent, but not for long. She finally decided to answer me back, looking back at Princess Cadance for some slight support.

"I...I'm not supposed to tell you, Lunar," Twilight quietly answered, "If I do tell you, it might...alter the way you pursue your studies."

"I don't understand..." I slowly responded, "how does that light tie in to my studies?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that question either, Lunar," Twilight told me, "It would go against the policy that Princess Celestia told us we had to follow." Twilight looked behind her and eyed Princess Cadance. "Could I tell him this?" She asked, walking up to Princess Cadance and whispering something in her ear. Cadance smiled, nodding her head, then eyed me as Twilight turned back around and faced me.

"Tell me what?" I eagerly asked.

"About that light," Twilight spoke, "do you remember how it came about?"

"Of course," I replied, "Princess Cadance asked me what I thought about friendship. I told her my opinion on the subject, then the light appeared and began consuming me. It finally disappeared once you walked in with Shining Armor."

Twilight nodded her head at me, then began rubbing her chin with her forehoof. She appeared to be up to something, but I was not too sure what it was. Finally, Twilight had begun her pursuits towards whatever it was she was trying to pursue. She smiled at me, then asked me what Princess Cadance had asked me earlier, which was...

"Tell me what you think of friendship, Lunar."

I cocked an eyebrow, but answered Twilight's question, nonetheless. "Friendship is magic," I replied, "it is the way of life that I have been introduced to and can solely say that it is truly magical. I have seen the light of way and, like I told Princess Cadance earlier, I am truly blessed that you have opened myself up to friendship. It is now what I strongly believe in and what I will continue to strive for for the remainder of my life."

Twilight smiled at my response, as did Princess Cadance and even Shining Armor. I was expecting to see the light again, but nothing happened this time around. Twilight looked down out of discouragement, as did Cadance and Shining Armor, while I approached Twilight, resting a hoof on her shoulder. I looked down at her, then rose her lowly head with the hoof that was resting on her shoulder, smiling at her in the process.

"Something magical will happen soon enough, Twilight," I quietly told her, "I'm more than sure of it."

Twilight looked at me in my eyes, slowly modifying her frown into a smile again. "I know, Lunar, I know." She told me. "It's just that...I want to see how you'd react to what will happen in the future."

"Does it have anything to do with a set of Pegasus wings?" I asked.

Twilight shrugged her hooves. "I don't know, " she playfully replied. Princess Cadance giggled while Shining Armor neared his wife.

"It's getting a bit late," he told us.

"Why don't we show you the room you'll be staying in while you're here, you two," Princess Cadance said, leading us both out of the room we were in.

I had a lot of thinking to do tonight while Twilight slept her pretty little head away. One of those thoughts was how I was going to get the light back again. Apparently, that light is the key to me continuing on in my studies. I've got to see how I can get it back again.

Princess Cadance and Shining Armor led both Twilight and myself out of the room and down one of the nearby hallways. At the end of the hallway stood a staircase that they brought us up. On the next floor above us, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor led us down yet another hallway and stopped right in front of a door located at the end of this hallway. He opened up the door for us, revealing a king sized crystallized bed and a bookshelf that had plenty of books lining up the shelves. The room also had a plentiful amount of plants, all of which made the room even more dazzling. Twilight entered the room first, closely followed by me.

"This is the room you two will share," Shining Armor smiled, "it isn't much, but it still is something."

"It'll be just fine, Shining Armor, " Twilight replied, paying her attention towards the bookcase.

"Anyway," he continued, "it's a little late. I'm going to go rest up for the night. Sleep tight, you two. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

"Goodnight, you two, " Princess Cadance added.

"Goodnight, Cadance," both Twilight and I spoke simultaneously, "Goodnight, Shining Armor. Sweet dreams."

With that said, Shining Armor closed the door, leaving only Twilight and me alone in a room together.

What could go wrong?

I looked at Twilight, who was completely mesmerized by the bookshelf that was located near our bed. The room only had one crystallized bed, but it was large enough to slumber us both. I walked up to Twilight and stopped next to her, looking at the bookcase that was filled with books, hundreds upon hundreds of books. One book seemed to draw the most attention to me, not because it was flashy or anything like that, but because it was so familiar looking to me. I pulled the book down with my magic and began to examine it.

"Caught your eye?" Twilight smiled.

"What do you mean?" I asked in response.

She pointed to the book. "The book, did it catch your eye?"

"Oh," I chuckled, "uhh...y-yeah. It did."

"I remember seeing that book the first time too," Twilight began, taking over the control of the book as I voluntarily gave it up. She turned to the last page in the book. "This is Star Swirl the Bearded's masterpiece. This was his final spell and he spent numerous hours on it, but could never quite get it right, and thus, he abandoned it."

I read the portion of the spell that was written on the page aloud, but did not cast it. "'From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled.'" I tried flipping the page, but noticed that nothing else was written. I looked at Twilight with a befuddled look. "Is that it? Is that all that is written?"

Twilight replied with a simple nod. "That's all that is written for the spell."

"That doesn't even rhyme!" I claimed.

"This is what happens if you cast only his portion of the spell." Twilight told me, casting the spell on me.

I hadn't noticed anything, but began the need to pursue the field of magic and try to practice everything that I could about it. I looked at Twilight, asking her what had happened. Then, with a giggle that still melted my heart, she told me to look at my cutie mark. I turned around towards my back end and noticed that my cutie mark was a pink, six-pointed sparkle with five smaller, white sparkles surrounding it. It was the same as Twilight's cutie mark! I couldn't understand how or why that was even possible! I looked over towards Twilight, expecting to see my cutie mark on her, but she also had the same cutie mark I now had. I looked back into Twilight's eyes with a slightly shocked look.

"How did you...what happened to my cutie mark?" I asked, traces of panic showing in my voice.

Twilight smiled, trying to calm myself down a bit by placing a hoof on my shoulder. "Relax," she told me, "this is only what happens when you cast Star Swirl's portion of the spell. I assure you that I can fix this."

"How?" I spoke. "It's an incomplete spell, meaning that there is no counter spell to counteract what was just casted."

Twilight chuckled, kissing me on my cheek. That kiss got me to calm down slightly, but I was still worried about my cutie mark, my real cutie mark. Twilight shut her eyes, then began to silently cast another spell. Again, a white light shone around me and began to consume me, this one feeling just a bit different from the last one. Once the light dissipated completely, Twilight pointed towards my cutie mark again. I looked back towards it and it was what it was supposed to be, a full moon with some stars around the moon. I was relieved, but more than that, I was amazed. I looked back at Twilight, both with relieved eyes and an amazed look.

"How did you do that?" I asked. "That was an incomplete spell. How did you fix it?"

Twilight smiled, twirling one strand from her mane with her hoof before stopping and answering me. "I cannot tell you that. You have to figure that out yourself. All I can say is that together, we are friends - you, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and myself, especially myself - and that together, their is magic without end."

I hung onto those words that Twilight told me and kept them for consideration. I then thought back to the incomplete portion of the spell and tried connecting the two to my studies. Looking back at Twilight, I asked her if this was part of my studies.

"It is, Lunar," Twilight said, flaring her wings at me, "and only when you finally understand it will you be able to move on in your studies."

Twilight rapidly motioned her wings at me as she completed her sentence, hinting at something towards me. I finally managed to put two and two together, despite the fact at how long it took to get it.

If I can cast the counter spell towards Starswirl's incomplete spell, I will finally be able to move on in my studies, receiving a pair of Pegasus wings as a reward for all my accomplishments I guess. Now I'm more excited than ever before! To know that I will be rewarded with a set of wings for all my hard work made me want to try and counter the spell even quicker now. I was now going to dedicate my time to fix the spell and understand it to the full extent. I smiled at Twilight, then gently ran my hoof along her mane, moving it behind her ear.

"Will you help me, my darling Twilight?" I softly asked.

"I'm afraid I cannot assist you in any way in casting the spell," she told me. I looked down in discouragement while Twilight kissed my cheek. "I can, however, provide you with subtle hints that you may or may not be on the right path. I had to do this myself, but it was excruciatingly tiring, trying to figure it out...well, actually, Spike helped me realize it. Who's to say I can't do the same?"

"Then let us get to work immediately, my dear." I smiled, holding out a hoof to Twilight.

Twilight gladly took my hoof and smiled at me as well. "Let's get to work, Lunar."

* * *

"So, friendship means what to you?" Twilight asked me.

"Like I said earlier, it is magic to me and I am blessed that you showed me the true light of way towards it. Without it, I would still be an independent pony, living alone, which I now know is not the true path that I should have been on. Now I know that making friends, meeting acquaintances, and being social are all just a few of the things that shape a pony into being a better, brighter, more likable one."

"Very good, Lunar," Twilight smiled.

We were both sitting on the crystallized bed, facing each other. We had spent nearly the last five or six hours just trying for me to understand how to fix Starswirl the Bearded's long time spell, but so far, everything we have tried has ended up producing nothing. Outside, the moon was still shining, so we still had some time left before we had to call it a night and head to sleep. Twilight yawned a bit, rubbing her eye with her hoof, before continuing on in assisting me. I yawned a bit too, but made sure not to show it to Twilight, though that was proving to be hard by itself.

"And what does it mean when you're together with your friends, Lunar?" Twilight asked.

"Together, I am one with my friends," I replied, "all of us, we come together, and together we are friends; one friend, truly united by all the common bonds and problems that we all share."

"Excellent," Twilight smiled, looking a bit more eager than before, "and when the marks of friends' destinies are made one?"

I chuckled at Twilight's eagerness, then answered her question. The answer to the question I had long been searching for for the last four hours. Now, it had come to me, like an answer comes to somepony after thinking about the question and working on it for some time. This answer clicked to me, and I finally understood the spell and knew immediately what to do!

"There is magic without end!" I eagerly answered, realizing what the true meaning of friendship was.

"Now cast the spell." Twilight told me. "Cast it, and you will be able to further your studies."

I surrounded my horn with my smoothly flowing white aura, then began to cast the spell. "'From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled. From all of us together, together we are friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end.'"

I correctly casted the spell and began feeling a white light shine from inside me. The light engulfed my entire body, managing to engulf Twilight as well. I felt a sort of magic blast afterwards and could sense that I was teleported away. To where I was teleported, that I did not know. How? Not a clue either. All I knew was that I had been teleported to a place I had not seen before.

Around me stood constellations and memories of my life, the high points of my years on this planet. I could see myself from when I was but a young colt applying to Princess Luna's School of Enchanted Unicorns. I saw when I met Princess Luna for the first time. I saw when I met my friends for the first time when I arrived in Ponyville. I saw when I met Twilight. I saw when she told me yes to "the question." I saw all my accomplishments from the day I enrolled at Princess Luna's school and saw all the happiest of memories in my life, none more notable than when Twilight and I became a couple.

"Are these...moments in your life?" A voice spoke.

I turned around and saw Twilight walking up next to me. I was shocked. I thought I was here alone but I guess the light was powerful enough to bring Twilight here as well. I smiled at her presence, then turned back to face the memories.

"These are," I replied, "these are my most memorable moments I've experienced in my life." I pointed to one frame. "That's when I enrolled in Princess Luna's school." I pointed to another. "That's when I met you and all the others only days ago." I pointed to one final frame after that. "And that's when we became a couple, my dear Twilight."

"And you can add one more to that memorial basket." Another voice said.

I turned around, as did Twilight, as we both saw Princess Luna approach us from an unknown location.

"Luna!" I shouted, happy to see her. "Where are we? I don't understand..."

"You have made me proud, Lunar Nights," Princess Luna began. She never called me by my whole name unless it was really important. "Throughout the years, I have watched you grow into a smarter, brighter, more compassionate, devoted, heart warming unicorn. Your studies have brought you here and you managed to do what only one other pony could do before."

Twilight blushed slightly as Princess Luna finished up her sentence and brought the book that contained the unfinished spell into my sight.

"You created magic that only one other pony, Princess Twilight Sparkle here, has managed to do thus far," continued Princess Luna. "By casting that spell, you have proven to myself that you understand friendship to a valiant extent. You have come such a long way, and I've watched since that very first day to go where you will go, to see what you might see, and to do what you will do. You have proven that you're ready to move on in your studies."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Just then, a sort of gray blob poked out from my chest and started surrounding me. The blob managed to pull me up into the air and I was growing more and more surprised. Finally, the blob engulfed me entirely and I began to feel some changes begin happening to my body.

I looked back down at Twilight and Princess Luna to notice that they were both gone and that I was back in the crystallized bedroom by myself. I ran up to a nearby mirror and turned towards my side so that I could see it, revealing to me that I had grown my very own set of real life Pegasus wings! I was so shocked and amazed by them. Honestly, I felt a mixture of a ton of emotions currently.

"Are these...actual wings?" I asked myself, surprised and excited tones sounding in my voice.

I tried flapping them and tried flying, but I didn't know how to do so. Just then, I heard two other sets of hooves behind me. I turned around and noticed that the sets of hooves belonged to Princess Luna and Twilight. They both wore smiles on their faces and Twilight ran up to me and wrapped her hooves around me.

"Congratulations, Prince Lunar Nights," Twilight told me, kissing me on my cheek.

"Prince?" I repeated, looking towards Princess Luna.

Princess Luna smiled, then nodded her head at me. "Since I've taken you under my wing, you've showed plenty of times the characteristics of a true Prince - kindness, understanding, leadership, devotion, and, most recently, compassion. Because you've shown these characteristics and have been able to execute them perfectly, you have proven that you are able to finally move on in your studies."

I looked back at my new wings and then at Twilight. I looked down out of discouragement while telling Luna my next thing.

"This means that I won't be your student anymore now," I replied lowly, "doesn't it?"

"Not in the same way as before, Lunar," Princess Luna answered, "I'll be here to help and guide you, but we are all now your student."

"Sounds like you and Princess Celestia are one in the same," Twilight chuckled, "like two sides of the same bit."

"What do you mean, Twilight?" I asked, unsure of what exactly she meant.

Twilight giggled, melting my hard heart at that moment. "In case I never told you, or in case you found out - which I'm more than certain that the second option rings truer because I remember Princess Luna saying something about this, but that's besides the point."

"You were Princess Celestia's student, if I remember correctly," I spoke, "right?"

"Precisely," Twilight continued, "and when I was in the position you yourself are currently in, I realized too that Princess Celestia would no longer be my mentor. I realized that and Princess Celestia told me that she would be there to help and guide me along the way. She told me that I would no longer be her student in the same way as before, but that they were my student, exactly what Princess Luna told you just now."

I looked back at Princess Luna and felt a tear begin to leave my eye. I approached her, then wrapped my hooves around her, giving her a nice, big, warm hug.

"Thank you, Princess Luna," I said, "thank you for everything you've given me over these last few years. I...I don't know what else to say but thank you..."

"You're quite welcome, Prince Lunar," Princess Luna told me, giving me a hug in response.

"And I presume that there will be a coronation for Lunar," Twilight rang, "right Princess Luna?"

"Precisely," Princess Luna answered, pulling herself back to look me in the eye, "I must go and tell my sister about this. Hopefully we can have your coronation within a few days."

"Do what you need to do, Princess Luna," I smiled, looking back at my wings, then at Twilight, "I have some learning that I need to attend to."

Princess Luna smiled, then positioned herself for a teleportation spell. Before she casted the spell and left Twilight and myself alone, Luna looked back at me and smiled, shedding a tear from her eye.

"Congratulations, my star student," she mouthed. "I am so proud of you..."

Princess Luna then teleported out of the room, leaving Twilight alone with me. Twilight ran up to me, throwing herself around me and hugging me tightly.

"I'm so proud of you, Lunar," she told me, burying her face in my shoulder, "you did it."

"I guess I did..." I replied. "Now, all that is left is for me to learn how to use...these." I turned to my wings, which were still being flared at Twilight, trying my best to tuck them in around my sides.

Twilight pulled herself from my body, looking at my struggling. She began chuckling, then put a hoof on my cheek and turned my head so that, now, I faced her. I looked into her eyes - her lovely violet eyes - and expected her to tell me something.

"Just relax," Twilight chuckled, proving my assumption true, "don't overthink about it. It'll happen."

I stopped thinking about putting my wings away and it became much easier to put them away, though I do not know how I managed to do it. All I knew was that I managed to put my wings away by my sides. I looked out the window to notice that the sun was rising and that meant a new day was upon us. It also meant that I had spent all of last night studying and trying to fix Starswirl the Bearded's spell with Twilight.

"Thank you, Twilight," I smiled, kissing her on her cheek, "thank you for helping me realize my destiny."

"I didn't do anything," Twilight smiled in response, "you did it yourself. All I did was guide you down the right path."

"And it was enough for me to further my studies." I said, nuzzling Twilight with my muzzle.

I saw Twilight blush and then suddenly stopped once I heard the door to our room begin opening up. I pulled myself from Twilight and looked up at the door to see Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor standing there, looking at us. The two of them entered into the room and I was so startled that I had flared my wings without recognizing it, receiving positive feedback from Cadance and Shining Armor.

"Congratulations for realizing your destiny." They both told me.

"Thank you very much, you two," I smiled in response.

"I always knew you would do it," Cadance told me, "since I laid eyes on you yesterday I knew it was close to happening."

And boy, am I glad that it did happen.

"I was thinking about showing him and teaching the new Prince how to fly later today." Twilight spoke. "Would you care to help me, Cadance?"

"I'd love to help." Cadance replied, flaring her wings at me. She chuckled a bit. "You can put your wings away, Lunar, it's okay."

I chuckled back. "I, uhh, I don't know how."

"Not a problem at all," continued Cadance, turning to Twilight, "then I guess our lessons start now."

"I guess so," Twilight smiled, wrapping a wing around my back.

* * *

"Okay, so the first thing we'll teach you about your new wings is how to control them."

I was out in a field with Twilight and Princess Cadance. We were all by ourselves, nopony else around us for a while, not even a set of royal guards. Twilight and Cadance had their wings flared at me, as I did to them, but the only difference between my flaring wings and their flared wings was that they were voluntarily flaring theirs. I, on the other hoof, wasn't flaring mine voluntarily. Twilight and Cadance both smiled at me as I was taking in their advice.

"Now if you think about trying to use your wings," Princess Cadance began, "you will find that you won't be able to use them properly."

"Okay." I nodded.

"So," added Twilight, "the best way to use your wings is to use them with feeling."

"Feeling?" I repeated.

"If you feel through your wings rather than think about them, you'll find that it will be much easier to fly or do whatever you need to do with your beautiful set of wings." Twilight explained.

"Feeling your actions rather than thinking about them is the most productive method." Princess Cadance added. "Trust me, I was a Pegasus before I became an alicorn. If there's one thing I know about, it's flying and how to fly."

I chuckled a bit, then nodded at Cadance. "I know, Princess, I know. If you don't mind me asking, how did you gain your horn?"

"I don't mind at all, Lunar," Cadance replied, "but that's a story meant for another time."

"Of course," I smiled back.

"Now, let your mind wander." Twilight told me. "Clear your mind and think about absolutely nothing."

I ceased thinking all around inside my head and allowed my mind to wander. I found myself to have complete inner peace and could feel myself slowly enter into nirvana. As I entered into nirvana, I could slowly feel my wings and could feel them retract and retreat back to my sides. I felt the feathers lining up along my sides and knew that they were properly put away. Princess Cadance and Twilight both clapped their hooves together and praised me for my fast learning.

The clapped hooves startled me a bit and troubled my feeling. My feelings and concentration was disturbed and I lost control of my wings which, once again, flared all by themselves to Cadance and Twilight. The two of them chuckled, as I began to feel myself blush very slightly.

"Don't worry, Lunar," Twilight told me, "it does take some time to get used to. Remember, you've only had these wings for a few hours now. Baby steps now, then you'll be set to go. I was in your hooves before, but look at me now. Not an alicorn for a year yet and I have learned much about my wings to get them to do what I want when I want them to do it."

"As long as I do eventually learn how to control my wings and get them to do what I want them to do when I want them to do it, I'll be fine," I replied, nuzzling Twilight with my muzzle.

"It'll come eventually," Twilight smiled, "time will tell you."

Cadance nodded as well, "Now, we shall teach you how to fly."

"Perfect," I chuckled, "for what is a Pegasus that is unable to fly?"

"Never met a Pegasus who couldn't fly," Twilight joked, "but you'd be the first alicorn I met who couldn't fly if we don't teach you."

"Funny, Twilight," I smirked, "very funny. Maybe later I can show you something that you might not even know."

"Which is hardly anything now," Twilight responded, "but you can try as hard as you'd like, Lunar."

Cadance giggled, "Alright, you two lovebirds. Let's learn how to fly."

"Alright," I gladly heeded, "I've been waiting for this lesson."

Twilight chuckled, "Good, then that means that you're ready to fall down plenty of times."

"Oh, I doubt that." I cockily replied.

"So then, flap your wings." Cadance challenged me.

"With pleasure, Princess Cadance." I smiled.

I firmly planted my hooves in the ground and tried flapping my wings. Trying to fly was a lot more difficult than trying to cast a spell. Obviously it's two different things, but flapping a pair of wings is a bit tougher than casting a spell. I can only imagine what Cadance went through when she became an alicorn and obtained her horn. I would've loved to see her reaction to the magic that flows through every unicorn. It tickles just a bit, but unicorns tend to get used to it. When a Pegasus gains a horn and becomes an alicorn is just a little bit different.

Either way, I flapped my wings as hard as I could, resulting in no luck and a tired self. Twilight came over to me and gently placed one of her wings on mine. I looked at her, still panting from lack of air, and she smiled at me, giggling very slightly.

"That's just a biiiit too hard, Lunar," she told me, "try flapping them gently, like so."

Twilight then pulled herself back and began flapping her wings very slowly. Compared to my flapping, I would say that for every flap of her wings, I had probably done about eleven or twelve. Nevertheless, Twilight's incredibly slow flapping resulted in her being lifted from the ground. She hovered in the air, as did Princess Cadance, as they both looked at me.

"Strength does not matter when it comes to flying." Twilight told me.

"The stronger you are as a pony," Cadance added, "the longer you can stay in the air. That's the only part strength plays with is endurance."

"So gently then is what I'm getting from this," I said, "right?"

"Precisely, Lunar." answered Twilight.

So I planted my hooves firmly on the ground again and tried flapping my wings again, this time, significantly more gentler. This time, my gentle flapping resulted in me being lifted from the ground. I had to work to find my center of balance, so I wobbled a bit here and there, but I managed to find it and gently hover in the air.

"I'm doing it," I panted, "I'm flying!"

I lifted my front hooves up in the air, terminating my center of balance and causing me to fall flat on my face on the ground. I felt a bit embarrassed and was immediately tended to by Twilight. She helped me up and offered me some compassionate words.

"It's okay, Lunar," she told me, "it happens to us all from time to time. Let's go back up there and do this together."

"Thank you, Twilight," I thanked as Twilight pulled my hoof while I stood up. I started gently flapping my wings again and started attacking my challenges head on with Twilight.

* * *

It's been about nine or ten hours since I've started learning about how to control my wings and how to fly. I've made plenty of visible progress and have come a long way. Now, I am able to fly with a little more ease and have learned to control my wings a little bit better now. I'm actually flying in the skies with Princess Cadance and Twilight right now, showing them the improvement I've made since we first began the lessons.

"Very good, Lunar," Twilight called, "you've sure come a far way in the field of flying."

"You sure have," added Cadance, "now, as all good flyers do, we should give our wings the rest that they deserve, don't you think?"

"I couldn't agree more, Princess," I panted, "I am a bit weary from all this learning and flying that we've done today. I'd sure love to give these two a rest."

"Not a problem at all." Twilight spoke as well.

Turns out, we were all tired from the continuous flying for today. We had touched base back in the field we were in earlier and had rested up a bit. I looked up at the clouds and smiled. It was a gorgeous Friday afternoon here in the Crystal Empire and the sun was reflecting off of the Crystal Castle so elegantly. I began hearing Twilight and Cadance have a small conversation, but I tuned them out and began thinking about some vital items that were sure to be put on my agenda at some point in the near future.

 _ _What do I do from here,__ I thought, __where do I go? Since I'm no longer Princess Luna's student, what happens now?__ I flapped my wings slightly before gently putting them away by my sides. __And now that I'm a Prince, does Princess Luna expect me to lead a kingdom of my own?__ I turned to Twilight, showing a smile in case she was watching me. __And Twilight...does me being a Prince mean that I won't be able to see her anymore? Can't I stay with Twilight and assist her with her ruling of her kingdom, just like Shining Armor assists with Princess Cadance?__

Turns out, Twilight did manage to sneak a peek over towards me. She looked into my eyes and could sense that I was feeling some disarray inside of myself. She approached me and positioned herself next to me, leaning against my side.

"Is everything alright, Prince Lunar?" Twilight asked me. "You seem to have something bothering you right now."

I looked down into her beautiful violet eyes and saw all the memories I've shared with her through them. I felt a tear trying to break free from my eye, but I managed to put a stop to that by rubbing that eye with my hoof. I leaned my head against Twilight's head, making sure not to harm her horn, as I answered her back.

"It's just...a lot of things are whizzing through my head." I answered.

Princess Cadance turned around and approached both Twilight and myself, setting herself down some one or two yards away. She heard my answer and decided to help with my uneasiness.

"Like what, Lunar," she asked, "if you don't mind me asking, that is?"

"Well," I began answering, pulling my look away from Twilight and focusing in on both of the princesses before me, "for one thing, now that I'm a Prince, does Princess Luna expect me to lead a kingdom of my own now?"

"Who's to know?" Twilight replied.

"If that's the case," added Cadance, "I'm more than certain that she will allow you to rule alongside Twilight here. If not, I can pull some strings for you and make sure that you two stay together."

"Well that answered one of my next hardships that was bothering me." I smiled. "Thank you, Princess Cadance."

Cadance chuckled. "You know, Lunar, you don't have to call me that. We're all royal ponies here and I have a fun motivation and character. While you're with us, you don't have to call me Princess, kind of like we forget that Shining Armor is a Prince, just like you, Lunar. But, nopony ever calls him Prince Shining Armor and I'd hate to feel above him if everypony I knew called me Princess in front of him. I like being called just Cadance. Truth be told, my actual name, Mi Amore Cadenza, is something that I hardly like, which is why I have ponies call me just Cadance. You're following me, right Lunar?"

"I'm following you, Just Cadance," I joked.

The two other princesses chuckled a bit before Cadance continued on. "A good sense of humor, too." She eyed Twilight. "He's a prankster, so watch out."

"Not a big a prankster as Pinkie Pie is," Twilight smiled, kissing me on my cheek, "but he is still my prankster."

Some time had passed with all of our small talk before we saw something up in the skies come towards us. It was a pony, an alicorn more specifically, that was coming down towards us.

"Princess Luna!" I smiled, happy to see her again.

"Prince Lunar," Princess Luna obliged in return, "I have wonderful news."

"Wonderful news?" I repeated. "What is this wonderful news, Luna?"

"It's in regards towards your coronation," continued Luna.

I smiled, ready to finally listen to some of the most important news that I would receive in my lifetime. "What about it, Princess?" I eagerly asked.

"Princess Celestia and myself have set up your coronation, which is to be held tomorrow in Canterlot!" Princess Luna told me.

"Tomorrow?" I repeated.

"Precisely, Prince!" Luna smiled. "I'm so proud of you...all of this...it's just happening so quickly. Your destiny is slowly coming together..."

"We should be getting to Canterlot if the coronation is being held to tomorrow," Princess Cadance suggested, "shouldn't we?"

"We don't have a lot of time to get you prepared, Prince Lunar Nights." Princess Luna continued. "We should follow Princess Cadance's suggestion and head to Canterlot to get yourself ready for tomorrow."

* * *

"...and that's when you'll come through the large doors to this room, followed by some other ponies. You'll come to the base of this altar and turn to the crowd for a few seconds, then turn back and step up the altar and in front of me. I'll place your crown atop your head, then you'll face the crowd of ponies one last time. They will cheer and applaud you and that's when we'll walk over to that balcony to the right of us. More ponies will be out in the field and you'll stand before them - you can wave to them if you like - and that's when you'll give a little speech on what you have learned. After that, you'll be set and you would have officially been crowned a Prince within Equestria. Does that sound fair?"

"It sounds completely fair, Princess Luna," I smiled.

"Then you should get some rest." Princess Luna suggested. "You've got yourself a long day tomorrow."

"Will do, Princess." I agreed, turning around and being led out of the Canterlot throne room by a royal guard pony.

We had arrived in Canterlot as quickly as possible after Princess Luna had told Twilight, Princess Cadance, and myself the wonderful news that my coronation was being held here tomorrow. Princess Luna just finished explaining to me the procedures for tomorrow and walking me through them. From what Princess Luna told me, and from what Twilight had shared with me, it almost sounds like Twilight's princess coronation. The only difference would be that Princess Luna would be the one introducing me to Equestria for the first time, not Princess Celestia. It didn't matter to me who introduced me. All that I knew was that I was feeling much excitement about tomorrow, but at the same time, I was feeling just a little bit nervous.

The guard pony showed me out of the throne room and into one of the hallways. He took me someplace to the left of our location and up some stairs. I was looking around and admiring the scenery of the Canterlot Castle. I had never actually seen this area of the castle before and it looked a little bit different that the area I've seen. The guard stopped in front of a door and opened it up with his magic. Inside the room was a bed as well as Twilight.

"This will be your room, Prince Lunar," the guard told me. "If you need anything throughout the night, I will be here guarding you and Princess Twilight."

"Thank you, kind sir," I replied as I entered into the room to the excitement of a hug by Twilight. The guard kindly closed the door slowly, leaving just Twilight alone with myself. "Twilight!"

"Lunar!" Twilight smiled, wrapping her hooves around me. "I still can't believe your coronation is tomorrow. I remember when you came over to Ponyville to learn about the magic of friendship from me and now look at you...you're just about to be crowned Equestria's newest Prince...it's all happening so fast! I...I'm so proud of you."

"I don't know what to say, Twilight," I replied, nuzzling her with my muzzle, "it did all happen so fast...I've studied friendship for Celestia knows how long and now look at me..." I approached the window with Twilight to gaze out towards the setting sun, continuing to answer Twilight. "...now I'm being crowned a Prince...and not just any Prince; I'm being crowned Prince of the Night, which is a big honor for me, seeing how Princess Luna is the Princess of the Night...so we have Princess Celestia, the Princess of the Sun, Princess Luna, the Princess of the Night, you, the Princess of Magic, Princess Cadance, the Princess of Love, and now me, Prince Lunar, the Prince of the Night...I'm so excited, but at the same time...I'm so nervous..."

Twilight comforted me as best as she could, trying her best to calm and ease my nervousness. She wrapped a wing around my body, as I did to her, as she began telling me something else...something that would calm me down very slightly.

"You'll be perfect tomorrow, Lunar," she started, "I just know it. With your confidence, I'm sure you'll be just fine when you walk through the doors to receive your new crown tomorrow. Remember, I'll be there waiting for you, as will Princess Cadance, Princess Celestia, and my older brother. Princess Luna will say a few words about you and your accomplishments, then introduce you. We'll all be waiting for you at the altar to receive your crown, so you won't be alone up there."

"I know, Twilight..." I smiled.

Some silence fell afterwards. Twilight sensed my uneasiness was still in tact and decided to help me out further.

"If it helps calm you," she began, kissing my cheek in the process, "I was like this before my coronation..."

"I'm sure you were," I replied.

"Don't worry though," continued Twilight, "you'll be fine tomorrow, I just know it."

I have a feeling that my nerves will kick in and say otherwise, but for the time being, all I can do is to agree with Twilight and assume that nothing bad could happen or will happen tomorrow. Besides, what's the worst that could happen, right?

I looked up at the sky and saw Princess Luna raising the moon and decided to calm my nerves before the big day tomorrow. Looking back at Twilight, I told her that I was going to take an evening stroll around Canterlot to calm myself down. She smiled, kissing my lips, then told me to be careful as I flew out the window and glided down to the streets of Canterlot.

Along the streets, there were hundreds upon hundreds of lights. The majority of them were streetlights, but there were a few lights coming from some homes. The time had to have been around seven or seven thirty at night, but there were still so many ponies that lined up the streets. I guess this pleased Princess Luna to an extent, up until each pony went home and slept through her gorgeous nights. I always preferred the night to day, but that's just me.

One of the more notable ponies that was trotting down the side of the road was Vinyl Scratch or, as she's known in Baltimare, DJ-Pon3. She was walking with a gray colored mare, but I couldn't place my hoof on who exactly they were. Vinyl was about to walk into a night club when she pulled down her trademark shades and noticed me.

"Yo," she called, "check out this crazy dude!"

She began walking up to me as I stopped in my tracks, wondering who she was talking about. Turns out that she was talking about me, seeing how she stopped in front of me and began admiring my mane and coat color.

"Really diggin' the colors man!" She told me.

"Thanks." I replied back.

I guess she noticed my horn and wings next because that's what came out of her mouth following my thanks. "And you got a horn and wings. You're like one of the princesses...uhh, what were they called again...?"

The grey mare from before approached Vinyl and excused her for her behavior to me.

"Please excuse my friend here." The grey mare told me. "She _can_ be quite a hoofful..."

"It's okay, miss," I smiled in response.

"Oh, please, do call me Octavia." The mare replied back.

"Sure thing, Octavia." I answered.

"Octy, look!" Vinyl called. "This guy's got a pair of wings and a horn. Whatcha say those ponies are called again?"

"Those are called alicorns, Vinyl," Octavia sighed, "and I've told you numerous times not to call me...Octy."

"Lighten up, Octy," Vinyl laughed, giving Octavia a playful shove, though it looked to be a strong one, "it's all in good fun!"

Octavia looked at me with slightly pink cheeks. "Please excuse Vinyl, um..."

"Lunar...Prince Lunar Nights." I replied. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to talk about my new title yet, seeing how I wasn't introduced to Equestria quite just yet as a Prince, but I took the liberty to do it myself anyway.

"Prince Lunar Nights?" Both Vinyl and Octavia questioned at an almost identical time.

"Yes." I answered.

"Well, pardon me, but I'm afraid that I've never heard of you, Prince." Octavia kindly told me.

"Yeah," added Vinyl, "what are ya? A Prince in another country or somethin'?"

I chuckled, "I assure you that that is not the case. Come by the Canterlot Castle tomorrow and you'll see."

"If you say so, dear," Octavia awkwardly said.

"C'mon, Octy," Vinyl anxiously spoke, pulling Octavia away to somewhere, "they're lettin' us in!"

"Whoa-," Octavia gasped, "it was nice meeting you, Your Majesty!"

Before long, Octavia and Vinyl were gone, back from where they once came from. For me, I continued on with my walk, trying my best not to get spotted. I didn't want to make a scene around myself, you know; it's not very often one meets an alicorn and when they do, they usually make a big deal out of it.

The night was perfect tonight. It wasn't too hot, but it also wasn't too cold. The atmosphere felt just right, and the wind - the very minimal wind that there was - was soothing, brushing some of the strands of my mane away. I approached a nearby park and decided to walk through it. Inside the park, there was a lovely fountain with a statue of both the sun and the moon. There was also an inscription written below the stone sun and moon - which replicated that of both Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's cutie marks.

The inscription under the stone read: "When one ends, another begins. When the other begins, one ends, but they never meet each other." I didn't really understand what exactly that meant, but I kind of linked that to what I was going through right now.

"When one ends, another begins," I repeated. I linked that part to my life as a regular unicorn ending and my life as an alicorn beginning. "When the other begins, one ends, but they never meet each other." I continued, linking that part to my two lives - unicorn to alicorn - and how it corresponds with it. Truth be told, my unicorn self and my alicorn self have never physically met. Unicorn me just happened to transform into alicorn me, ending my unicorn life and beginning my alicorn life.

I was overthinking things, something I tend to do a lot, especially when something fairly large is scheduled to happen. I remember feeling this way the day before important tests with Princess Luna and I slightly felt this way when Princess Luna requested that I go and see Princess Twilight, which was honestly the best decision I've ever made. I mean, I could've easily chose not to go, but if I did that, then none of the events that occurred the last few days would have happened and I probably wouldn't have been crowned as a Prince. I probably wouldn't have even received a crown of a pair of wings at that!

I chuckled a bit, reminiscing about all of the events that have occurred in my lifetime, especially that of recent moments. Twilight and all of her teachings...I'm so grateful for all of that. It is because of her that I have my wings. It is because of her that I was introduced to the magic of friendship. It is because of her that I am a very happy uni...alicorn this very moment!

I decided to finally head back to the castle and see Twilight. The walk back wasn't very long, but it was enough for me to settle my emotions down before tomorrow's coronation. I told my parents about the coronation and heard from them almost immediately later in the day. They told me that they will leave for Canterlot immediately and I requested that Princess Luna save a pair of spots for them in the front row. I want them to get a good look at me receiving my crown tomorrow morning.

Looking up, I saw the castle and only one light on coming from a window. The window the light came from happened to be the window I flew out of earlier and so I thought that Twilight was reading up on something important. I flew up towards the window, landing on the balcony just outside the room. I saw Twilight laying on the bed and reading a book and, from the looks of it, it seemed pretty interesting. I entered into the room and saw Twilight look up from her book, smiling at me from the bed.

"Good evening, Prince Lunar Nights," Twilight chuckled, "how are you on this glorious evening?"

"I'm feeling pretty good after my walk, Princess Twilight." I playfully answered back.

"Well that's good to hear," Twilight continued, moving herself so that I could lay upon the bed, "care to join me?"

"I'd love to, Princess." I happily obliged, slowly moving towards the bed and resting myself next to Twilight.

Twilight rested her head against my body, smiling at me and looking up at the ceiling of the room. She gave off a content sigh, then nuzzled me with her muzzle.

"You should get some rest, Lunar," Twilight whispered, "you have yourself a long day tomorrow...Prince."

I smiled, agreeing with Twilight that I should indeed get some rest. I did have a long day set up tomorrow, but, by this time tomorrow, I'll be forever known as Prince Lunar Nights to all of Equestria.

* * *

Well, the day has finally arrived. Today is my coronation, and I'm just as excited as ever, but at the same time, I'm also very, very nervous. I put on the royal outfit that was given to me by Princess Luna, which resembled my personality and character perfectly. As you know, I am a dark colored unicorn with specks of white in my mane and tail. The outfit Princess Luna gave to me to wear today focused on my personality. It was a suit that resembled the night itself, to be more specific. I put on the suit that was given to me and looked in the mirror. I was all by myself right now, waiting to be called and introduced to everypony out there as a Prince for the very first time.

"Not bad at all," I smiled, looking over my appearance. I flared my wings and began to take a professional stride, practicing one last time to keep the wings flared like this. Suddenly, a knock came at my door and soon after, a guard came inside my room.

"You're time is almost here, Your Majesty," the guard spoke, moving out of the doorway so that I could walk through, "you're needed in the hallway in about two minutes."

I walked out of the room and was guided to the door to the coronation hall by another guard. The first guard was a unicorn guard while this second guard was a Pegasus guard. Not that it mattered, but I just wanted to point that out. We had arrived outside the door to the hall and I could hear Princess Luna saying a few words about me. The guard bowed to me, giving me congratulations about my accomplishments. I thanked him, then focused in on what Princess Luna was saying.

* * *

"...my star pupil, doing many a great thing since I took him under my wing," Princess Luna said, "he's made me very proud over the years. Since my return and transformation back from Nightmare Moon, he has taught me how to cope with feelings and emotions better than I knew before. It is because of him that we are all here today. So, without further ado, allow me to introduce to you, the citizens of Equestria, to him. Fillies and gentlecolts, allow me to present for the very first time: Prince Lunar Nights!"

The doors to the hallway opened up and there I stood, glancing from back to forth, looking at all the faces of each and every pony. I began walking slowly down the center aisle, followed by the sound of a horn behind me. I had reached the end of the aisle and stood before he base of the altar, turning around and flaring my wings to everypony, receiving an excruciating amount of cheers from them. I looked over and saw that my parents had made it and saw my mother crying tears of joy. I smiled at them, then turned around and began walking up to Princess Luna. Behind her stood Princesses Celestia, Cadance, and Twilight, as well as Shining Armor. I stood before Princess Luna with nothing but smiles on my face - on both of our faces, actually.

"You have made me proud, Lunar," Princess Luna told me, using her magic to reveal a crown to me. She placed it atop my head as I tilted it for her. "Now I want you to share my pride all over Equestria, Prince Lunar Nights!"

I nodded and smiled, then turned back around towards everypony else, receiving more cheers. I looked down towards my parents and motioned to my crown, then to them.

"This is for you." I mouthed at them.

Soon after, Princess Luna took me over to a balcony. We stepped out onto it and I saw thousands of ponies lining up the streets below us. I began waving at the ponies below us as they cheered on, slowly being walked to the end of the balcony by Princess Luna.

"Now it's your turn," she smiled, "go on, say something to them."

"Right," I replied, clearing my throat as the crowd got enormously quieter, "not too long ago, my mentor, Princess Luna, requested that I go search for the benefits of having friends. Prior to me doing so, I really had no friends. My daily routines just required me trying to further my studies and make Princess Luna happy and proud of my accomplishments. Now, I stand before you, not as a lonely unicorn with no friends, but as an alicorn that has touched some lives and has been touched by many ponies. I can honestly say that if it weren't for the assistance of Princess Twilight Sparkle and Princess Cadance, I would not be standing here before you right now. So, I just want to say thank you, not just to the friends that have helped me further my studies, but to everypony as well. Thank you for everything."

I turned around as the crowd cheered and was greeted with a hug from Twilight. I saw tears falling from her eyes and wiped them away with my hoof.

"Thank you for all you've given to me, Prince Lunar Nights." Twilight smiled, kissing me on my lips.

"Thank you for everything you've done, Princess Twilight." I replied, returning the favor to her. I looked towards Princess Luna, who greeted me with a hug.

"You've made me so proud of you over the years, Lunar," she told me, "and there comes a time where everypony has to let their own go into the world themselves, whether they are star pupils or children to parents. I must do the same and let you go into the world to do good. I may not be your mentor anymore, but I will be here to help and guide you if you need me to."

"Thank you for your guidance, Princess Luna," I smiled, hugging her in response, "thank you for everything that you have done over the years. I promise that I will not let you down and that I will help make Equestria a better place..." I pulled Twilight over with my wing very gently and continued answering Luna. "Especially with her by my side."

"Oh, Lunar," Twilight giggled.

"Always remember how you got here and always remember that you have done good to everypony, Lunar." Luna smiled. "Now go...go out there and make a difference."

"With pleasure, Princess Luna." I obliged.

* * *

 _ _ **All of us travel under the same path and are all taken under someone's wing in our lifetime. We all are under the wing of our parents as a child and all know that when we, the child, grow up and are ready to move on in today's world, the parents must come to realize that it is time to release the child. But always remember where you come from. You are the world to your parents. They have taught you all that they can (or currently are) and want nothing but the best from you. So remember, when the time has come for you to spread your own wings and fly, always remember where you came from and who helped you get there, for without them, then we would all be struggling to move on.**__


	2. A Lunar Night

_**A Lunar Night**_

"There you go, Prince. You're getting it now!"

"I'm doing it! Woo hoo!"

 _ _SLAM!__

"Oh my gosh! Are you alright!?"

Stopping my rolling eyes, I looked into the luscious eyes of the Princess and smiled.

"Perfectly fine, dear," I answered.

"That's good to hear." She told me, nuzzling me with her muzzle.

My name is Lunar Nights and the mare currently nuzzling me would be none other than my marefriend, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Currently, Twilight was teaching me how to fly a bit better and was teaching me some maneuvers for aerial flight. Ironic, right? I'm learning how to _fly_ from Princess Twilight herself. Either way, I appreciate Twilight taking her time to help teach me some better and more precise aerial maneuvers; she doesn't have to do it. I'm very lucky to have the most beautiful and little alicorn as a marefriend and I'm sure she feels the same way to know that the only male alicorn in all of Equestria is her strong, handsome coltfriend.

Being the only alicorn in Equestria that is a colt is a real historic moment, considering the fact that, obviously, there has never been a pony like me before. Not only has that been historic, but I've just recently been crowned as Equestria's newest Prince after spending countless years studying under the guide of the Princess of the Night - Princess Luna - herself. Well...granted that the friendship was taught by Twilight, but everything else I know was taught by Princess Luna.

I have been a very happy colt ever since I met Twilight and was mentored and tutored by her. If it weren't for her teachings or her leadership, I wouldn't be the alicorn that I am today. For that, I am very thankful for because she could have easily said to Princess Luna that she did not want to help me and vise versa; I could have easily told Princess Luna that I didn't want to learn the ways of friendship. With that in mind, either choice made would not have resulted me with my very own set of real life Pegasus wings.

The flight maneuvers I'm trying to learn are relatively easy. Then again, they aren't really much maneuvers as they are aerodynamic tactics to help me fly a bit better and a bit faster. I had just hit a tree going at a pace a little faster than I probably should have and had damaged myself, hurting my wing a little bit. I tended to my wing before Twilight had come down next to me to help me out.

"Perhaps we should call it a day with the aerial practice." I suggested, spawning some bandages and patching up the damaged wing.

Twilight nuzzled me, making me smile and taking my mind off of my pained wing. "That sounds like a good idea." Twilight then looked at my bandaged wing. "How bad did you hurt it, Prince?"

"You know you don't have to call me that, Twilight," I smiled, "other ponies can call me that if they want, but I don't want my very special somepony to do the same. If anything, I should call you Princess, Princess."

Twilight giggled. "You don't have to call me that either. Other ponies could call me that if they want too as well, but not my very special somepony."

I smiled at Twilight, then looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful day outside today in Ponyville and there were no clouds in the sky. Right now, Twilight and myself were in the park by ourselves. We were practicing some flying methods as you know, but now, we were simply relaxing under a tree together.

"You know," I started quietly, "I'm pretty lucky considering everything that's happened in my life, you know that?"

"What makes you say that, Lunar?" Twilight playfully asked.

"Meeting you," I continued, "earning my wings, being crowned a Prince, and having you as my very special somepony...I'd say that I'm a pretty lucky colt."

"I would second that saying, Lunar," Twilight smiled, kissing me on my cheek.

I smiled, looking down into Twilight's eyes. I started leaning in to Twilight's face, ready to kiss her on her lips, only to be stopped by a random Pinkie Pie appearing.

"Hi guys!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

Both Twilight and myself jumped back, startled by the random appearance of Equestria's most random pony. She smiled, bouncing up and down in place, obviously excited about something.

"Hey, Pinkie," Twilight chuckled, "I see you're excited about something."

"Totally!" Pinkie Pie happily shouted.

"What are you excited about?" I asked her.

"It's a secret!" whispered Pinkie as she bounced away.

"I don't think I'll ever understand what drives that pony..." I commented.

"It's just Pinkie being Pinkie," Twilight giggled, "it's just better not to question it."

"So it seems..." I agreed, feeling Twilight rest her head against my body. I smiled as Twilight rested herself against me, looking up into the sky as a cloud started forming and being set into place by one of the Pegasus weather ponies.

But as I do that...I can't but feel that something isn't right...

Eventually, I did manage to fall asleep, resting my head against Twilight's head. Everything became shrouded in a very indigo colored void as I saw Princess Luna walk over to me, long, elegant mane flowing as always. I smiled at her appearance, greeting her as always.

"Hello there, Princess Luna," I smiled, giving a hug to my former mentor, "I'm so happy to see you."

"I wish the feeling was mutual, Prince Lunar," Princess Luna commented, pulling herself back from my hug.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"I sense a great evil coming soon," Princess Luna continued.

"A great evil?" I repeated.

"Precisely," Luna nodded, "and you won't like who I've sensed it to be..."

"Who is it?" I asked, eager to know.

Luna slightly trailed off before finally answering me directly. "I've sensed that the great evil...is..." She sighed slightly, looking me into my eyes and approaching me, giving me a hug.

I was confused. "What's going on?"

"The great evil," Luna whispered, "is...you."

"What are you talking about, Princess Luna?" I asked.

"There is a great evil coming," Luna explained, "and there won't be much I can do to help you..."

"I don't get it though..." I trailed off. "How can I be the great evil? I've never done anything remotely bad before in my life, you know it..."

"I sense that your horn is starting to develop some dark magic." Princess Luna alerted me.

"Dark magic?" I repeated.

"Precisely." Princess Luna continued. "Normally, an alicorn would develop their alicorn magic first. Dark magic shouldn't be developed until late in an alicorn's life..."

"But you telling me this can offer a way for me to stop this, right?" I asked.

"Dark magic is different between alicorns and regular unicorns," Luna explained.

"How so?"

"Well," continued Luna, "for one thing, it's much easier to remove the dark magic for regular unicorns. As for alicorns like ourselves, it's a bit trickier...myself, for example, was corrupted by dark magic and, like you know, became Nightmare Moon. Once corrupted, it will be very hard to save you, seeing how the Elements of Harmony are no longer with their respective holders."

"Is there anything I can do to stop this from happening?" I asked, a tear forming in my eye. I didn't want to hurt anypony, including myself.

"All that I can tell you is to stay strong and fight it as best as you can." Luna sighed. "You will notice a change in your behavior - I don't know what you'll do or how you'll become - and you will start seeing a change in the way you perform magic."

"Will it continue to happen if I continue casting spells?" I wondered, trying to come up with ways to eliminate corruption from happening to me.

"It will continue to happen, regardless if you cast spells or not." Luna spoke heavily. "And, simply putting this out there, but you need your magic to perform your royal duties." She neared me and stared at me in my eyes. Placing a hoof on my shoulder, she quietly spoke to me. "All I can say is that I believe in you, Lunar. You are strong enough not to fall, trust me. You are a strong pony, stronger than anypony else I've ever seen in my lifetime. I wish there was something I could do to help you out, but this is something you have to deal with by yourself, as much as I wish you didn't have to. But you can do this...don't be like me. Don't become corrupted. Don't turn into a colt version of Nightmare Moon. Don't do any of that. Think about the happiness you being to everypony: myself, Princess Cadance, Princess Celestia, the element holders, and, most importantly, Princess Twilight. Think about them and the happiness you have brought them."

Just then, the void Princess Luna and myself were in was starting to collapse. Princess Luna started walking backwards back into the void while I tried reaching out to her, hoping to get more answers. Unfortunately for myself, the void had collapsed and I had woken up on the surface world in such a startle that I accidentally woke up my sleeping beauty.

"Are you okay, Lunar?" Twilight asked, rubbing her eye with her hoof.

I looked over to her with heavy eyes and contemplated whether or not I should tell the pony that meant the entire world to me what was slowly happening to me. Twilight sensed that something was wrong with me, but she couldn't exactly place her hoof on what was wrong. She got up and approached me slowly, hoof extended out, showing that she wanted to help me.

"No..." I heavily spoke through a gasp. "No..."

"I only want to help you, Lunar." Twilight claimed, continuing to approach me.

I backed up into a tree trunk and glanced back and forth around me. I locked eyes with Twilight, then began to realize what she wanted to do. She only wanted to help me out, but I was forbidding it. I calmed down, taking Twilight's offered hoof for help, holding it and walking back to where we were, laying back down on the ground. I usually never act like this and Twilight knew it. She quietly asked me what was wrong and I decided to tell her what I wanted to tell her. I'm not sure how she would respond just yet if I told her that I was slowly being corrupted by my magic.

"Shhhh," Twilight quietly sounded, "it's okay...you can tell me. It's alright..."

"I...I just had a bad dream, that's all..." I lied, trying not to alert Twilight in any way.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Twilight calmly asked me, gently rubbing her hoof along mine. "If you talk about it, it releases the images of that dream and you'll be less likely to have it in the future."

"I...it was..." I gulped, looking into Twilight's lovely eyes, getting drowned in them and completely forgetting about my sure corruption. "I dreamt that we had a big fight and that you wanted to leave me for somepony else...exiling me to someplace else..."

"It's okay, my Prince," Twilight spoke, looking into my eyes, "that is a dream that will never come to pass...I will never do that to you and, should we to have an argument, I'm sure there isn't anything a little talk and compromise can't fix."

I falsely smiled at Twilight, but she couldn't tell, buying the smile in the meantime. Nuzzling her with my muzzle, I happily obliged her comments.

"I am so lucky to have you as my marefriend, Twilight," I spoke, "I do hope that you know that."

"I do, Lunar," Twilight giggled, "and I feel the same way about having you as my coltfriend."

"And I wouldn't want to be with anypony else." I smiled as I nuzzled Twilight again...but these actions were through false emotions. My true emotion was fear and anger, but I managed to put those under the hypothetical bridge for the time being while I was here with Twilight.

I guess Princess Luna was right...I guess I was becoming corrupted...I have to try my hardest to fight against this corruption and last for as long as I can...but...Twilight's happiness...?

I had put the so-called "nightmare" away for now, hoping that this little detail wouldn't change me or my personality in the future. Right now, I focused on only Twilight and my current life, trying to adjust to being an alicorn. It's a bit tough trying to adjust, but Twilight is there to help me out were I to need it.

Right now, Twilight and myself have met up with Applejack and Rainbow Dash over at Sweet Apple Acres. The two of them seemed to be quarreling over who was the more athletic pony, something Twilight says that they do a lot.

"There's no way you can beat this sleek Pegasus in a race, you know," bragged Rainbow Dash.

"Well Ah play fairly," Applejack defended, pointing at Rainbow Dash's wings, "least you could do the same..."

"Oh please," Rainbow Dash scoffed, "I could beat you in a race without my wings!"

Twilight and myself chuckled at Rainbow Dash's particular comment. I actually knew a spell that could remove a Pegasi's wings and a unicorn's horn. It was a spell that I learned just under a year ago and it's one that I've never really used on another pony. Stepping up, I called out Rainbow Dash on her comment.

"Care to prove it then?" I challenged.

"Anywhere, anytime!" Rainbow Dash accepted.

"Glad to hear..." I agreed, casting the spell, removing Rainbow Dash's wings. I also casted the spell on myself, removing my wings temporarily as well, but not my horn.

"What are you doing, Lunar?" Twilight questioned.

"I want to challenge these two to a race as well." I smiled. "They talk an awful lot, but it takes one to know one."

Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack began laughing.

"Y-y-you!?" Rainbow Dash laughed.

"Who else?" I sarcastically replied.

"No offense, partner," Applejack said through her laughter, "but have you ever run a race before?"

"Run in a race, yes," I answered, "beat both of you in a race, I'm about to."

"Y'know," Rainbow Dash spoke, cocking an eyebrow at me, "for an alicorn, you've got a pretty big mouth. How do you know that you'll win?"

"Well, for one thing," I smirked, "I may look like a brainiac and an egghead, as you call it, but I'm a very competitive pony when it comes to races."

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow Dash scoffed.

"Prove it." added Applejack.

"With pleasure." I finished.

"So how about a race to the Everfree Forest and back?" Rainbow Dash suggested. "When I get back first, that means that I win."

"You're funny, Dashie," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"I'm funny?" Rainbow Dash smirked. "Oh, I don't know about that."

"When you get back first?" Applejack asked with a displeased face.

"We all know who the fastest pony is here." Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah," I added.

"I am." The three of us simultaneously said.

Silence fell afterwards as we all exchanged competitive looks with each other. I smirked, then began breaking the silence.

"Well," I spoke up, "there's only one way to find out I suppose."

"Let's race!" Rainbow Dash smiled.

"With pleasure." added Applejack.

Twilight chuckled, then pulled me aside for a quick moment.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this, Lunar?" She asked me. "These two get real competitive and are both very fast..."

"Who cares?" I replied. "I won't lose to the likes of them."

That answer worried me slightly. I would never answer a question Twilight asked like that. I am a more caring pony than a competition driven one. Normally, I would've answered Twilight by saying something like: It doesn't bother me, for as long as I've tried and had fun, I at least won, right?

"Are you okay, Lunar?" Twilight asked me. "You've been acting a bit strange these last few hours..."

I cracked my neck quickly for a second, then answered Twilight how I normally would. "Perfectly fine, Twilight. I guess the competitive atmosphere is turning me into a different pony for a few moments." But I really knew what was going on...

Twilight smiled, buying my little fib, then giving me a kiss on my cheek. "Just have fun and do your best, Lunar. I believe in you."

"Thank you, Twilight." I replied, nuzzling her with my muzzle.

"Eww, BLEH!" I heard Rainbow Dash gagging, with Applejack chuckling just after. "Save it for later! Let's get on with this race!"

"I'll win for you, Twilight." I smiled before leaving her to go join Rainbow Dash and Applejack at the "starting line," determined by us. Twilight flew above us, and counted down from three.

"Three!"

"Ready to lose, Princey?" Rainbow Dash asked me.

"Two!"

"I'm ready to record my awesomeness in the history books, Dashie." I answered, stealing her line and using it against her.

"One!"

"Ah'm afraid that Ah be the one waitin' here for you two slow pokes!" Applejack smirked.

"Go!"

"We'll just see about that!" I shouted as we all sprinted out of the finish line together.

All three of us were evenly as fast, although I was probably faster, seeing how I had a horn that provided resistance against me, but that's besides the point. Slowly, Rainbow Dash started to pull away from Applejack and myself, opening up a gap between us. I allowed Applejack to do the same and let her open up a gap between me and her, letting myself fall behind tremendously, although I wasn't finished quite just yet.

When I determined that both Rainbow Dash and Applejack were between twenty to thirty yards away from me, I began casting a spell on some of the objects ahead of them in the hopes that they would trip and fall, thus allowing me to pass both of them easily. At first, I had dropped things such as leaves and twigs, but as the two of them evaded these items, I began casting things that were hidden in the ground, like roots and stumps.

When I had casted a growth spell on a root, that got Rainbow Dash to trip over and fall, allowing me to pass her with no problem. I then did the same to Applejack and got her to trip and fall as well, allowing me to, once again, pass her with no problem.

It then dawned upon me that I had used illegal means and had cheated in a race, which was something that I never was able to do before I became an alicorn...I cheated...

I cheated...

I continued running to the Everfree Forest, then eventually turned around and started running back towards Sweet Apple Acres. I had passed Rainbow Dash and Applejack on the way back and, because I cheated, they had fallen behind drastically with little to no chance to catch up, unless I slowed down, that is. I could see Twilight up ahead in the distance a few minutes later, then slowed down until I was in front of her, coming to a complete stop and "winning" the race. Twilight seemed really impressed that I came back first and with plenty of time to spare between Rainbow, Applejack, and myself.

"Wow!" She exclaimed. "Aren't you a fast alicorn?" She then nuzzled me before I answered her in response.

"You could say that, I guess." I chuckled.

A few moments later, Applejack and Rainbow Dash came back and passed both Twilight and myself at the exact same time, resulting in a draw between the two. I smirked, prepared to showboat my acceleration and speed, but was soon stopped in my own tracks when they both gave me an ice cold, brutish stare.

"What's with you two?" I snorted. Weird, though…I would never ask a question like that.

"What's with __us__ _!?_ " Rainbow Dash barked.

"What, do we have an echo here?" I sassed. Twilight looked to me and lightly shoved me with her wing as I smirked again, casting the wing spell to both Rainbow Dash and myself, giving our wings back to us.

"Y'all cheated!" Applejack accused.

"What!?" I chuckled. "I would never cheat!"

"You cheated and you know it!" Rainbow Dash shouted, flying directly in front of my face.

"Oh, yes," I sarcastically replied, "I cheated. Oh, sue me. Oh my gosh, we have a cheater in the area!" I shouted up into the sky again: "We have a cheater in the area!" Looking back at Rainbow Dash, I smirked, then answered back snobbishly. "I didn't cheat; I'm just faster than you two slow pokes."

Twilight could see the situation that was starting to get out of hoof and teleported herself in between Rainbow Dash and myself, trying to defuse the situation. "Now, now, you two. It's only a race."

"Yeah," I added, "so why don't you just let it go and move on. You think I cheated. Big whoop. Move on and get over it!"

"Lunar!" Twilight scolded, turning back to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "How exactly did Lunar cheat?"

"He used his magic to make a root grow and used that to trip me and AJ!" Rainbow Dash claimed.

"Is that true, Lunar?" Twilight asked me.

"Of course not!" I defended myself. "We agreed to make this a fair race, which is what I did, removing both my wings and Rainbow Dash's wings, and not using any magic whatsoever. How could I have cheated? They were behind me the entire time and would've seen me cast a spell even if I did cheat!"

"That's a bunch of rotten apples and ya know it!" Applejack accused.

"Care to add your input, Applejack?" Twilight asked.

"Glad to, Twilight," Applejack answered, turning her attention from me to Twilight. "Ah seen him cast that spell and a root just done grew outta nowhere…Ah seen Dash trip over one of 'em an' he used that spell to grow another root, which Ah tripped over. Roots don't grow as fast as those roots did."

"Plus," Rainbow Dash added, "it's very hard to miss that white stuff surrounding his horn!"

"It's called 'aura,' Rainbow," Twilight said, turning towards me, giving me a heavy glare. I tried smiling, but couldn't manage to do so. Instead, I frowned, not because of what was going on right now, but because of what Twilight would tell me right now. I rolled my eyes, then listened in to what Twilight had to say to me.

"We will discuss this later, Lunar," Twilight told me, seemingly getting angrier as the time passes. She turned back to Rainbow Dash and Applejack and calmed them down as best as she could, which did end up working out, but I had to leave for it to work.

Twilight had sent me away as a way of calming down the speed demon and the hardworking farm girl. I chuckled before leaving, slightly putting a dent in whatever progress Twilight had accomplished before. I flew on top of a nearby cloud and began eavesdropping on them down below me.

"Let me know exactly what he did, you two," Twilight whispered, trying her best not to be loud, though I could her loud and clear.

"Well," started Rainbow Dash, "I began to pull away, like usual, when out of nowhere, a random root started growing and tripped me."

"Sounds weird…" Twilight commented.

"An' the same exact thing happened ta me right after!" Applejack added.

"And I saw him cast a weird spell that did it, too!" Rainbow Dash inserted.

"So, he used his magic to cheat and get a bigger advantage then," Twilight responded, trying to get a clear story, "right?"

"Exactly!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

Twilight sighed, obviously disappointed in the actions I've performed during the race. She turned back to Rainbow, then told her that she will deal with me personally later on today.

"Make sure ya give him a good talkin', Twilight." Applejack spoke before Twilight had begun to leave.

"Don't worry, Applejack," Twilight called back, "I will…"

And with that, Twilight had left Sweet Apple Acres and returned to the castle we both shared. I smirked, then slowly followed her from up in the air, just until she entered inside. I touched base with the ground and cracked my neck, feeling just like my old self again - the kind, courteous, loyal, truthful me, not the snobbish, self-centered, cheating me. I knew what was going on inside me, but I just couldn't find myself to tell Twilight yet.

I don't know if I could even break it to her that her Prince is slowly becoming more evil with each passing second…I don't think she'll take that very well…

* * *

"Hello there, my Princess," I smiled, "how are you doing?"

I received a cold shoulder from Twilight as she continued walking through the main hallway of the castle. I was a bit shocked and ran up next to her to see what was wrong. Walking down one of the other hallways, I noticed that Twilight had begun picking up her pace, so I matched her new pace in order to keep up with her.

"What's wrong, Twily?" I asked calmly.

"Don't call me that." Twilight replied.

"I just want to know what the matter is." I continued.

"You know damn well what the matter is!" snapped Twilight.

I was surprised. Twilight has never spoken to me in a tone such as that one before. I grew worried as I continued defending myself by denying what the obvious was.

"I really don't know what you mean, Twilight." I told her. "I don't know what the matter is."

"Oh," Twilight sarcastically scoffed, "the cheater doesn't remember what he did?"

"I-"

"How can you just stand there like that and lie to me?" Twilight asked, tears beginning to run down the side of her pretty little face.

"But-"

"How could you do that?" cried Twilight.

"What-"

"I thought you loved me…" Twilight squeaked out between sobs.

That shut me up permanently as I stared directly into Twilight's beautiful violet eyes. At that moment, I realized that my honesty and my good nature was turning on itself and turning me into a different pony.

"Twilight…" I whispered.

Twilight shook her head at me. "Don't talk to me," she told me through her tears, "I don't want to talk to you right now…don't talk, don't want to see you now neither."

She then began running off to her room as I was left there in the middle of the hallway, stunned look locked on my face. I fought back a tear, then opted to go to my room and lay down. I needed to cool off desperately, and by being alone, I could be able to do just that.

Entering my room, I made sure to not be disturbed by asking Spike to hold all of my visitors for the time being. I wanted to be alone, and I was going to do just that. Spike obliged to my request as I entered into my room and locked the door behind me and stood in the center of the room, facing a nearby mirror and looking at my features and appearance.

Prior to becoming an alicorn, I was about the size of Princess Luna, about a few inches smaller than she was. Now, I'm a few inches taller than her and, obviously, have my set of feathered wings, something I'm honestly starting to question. I mean, without these wings, I was a normal unicorn with controlled magic. Now that I have them, I have uncontrolled alicorn magic that's slowly developing me into a pony that is not me.

As I looked closer at myself, I noticed that I was a bit taller than I usually was and that my mane has sparks within it. Earlier today, I was a bit shorter and did not have sparks in my mane. I examined my mane, noticing that the sparks were within it, then sighed heavily before punching the crystallized wall in front of me, forming cracks all around the area I punched. Odd enough, it didn't hurt at all, but I could see blood wounds that formed around my hoof. I ignored it, walking on it over towards my bed. I collapsed on my bed, then looked up towards the ceiling.

This room is my room, and I am a pony of the night, so my room resembled my personality fully. It is a dark colored room with astrological signs printed throughout it. I have bookshelves that are filled with the latest books on astronomy that are in my room as well, as well as a model of the sun and the moon on top of one of the bookshelves.

I stared at the moon model for what seemed like hours until my attention was drawn from it. A knock came at my door and I opted not to answer it. That was the case until I found out who was knocking.

"Lunar?" Twilight called. "Are you in there?"

"What do you want, Twilight?" I rudely replied. I cracked my neck, then straightened out my tone and attitude. "I mean, uhh, what's wrong, Twilight?"

"Can I come in?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah, sure," I sighed, "why not?"

I got up, then walked over to the door. I unlocked it, opening it up a slight bit. Peering my head out the door, I made sure that Twilight was all alone before letting her in. Once she was inside my room, I immediately closed and locked the door, facing her in the process.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I wanted to ask you that, Lunar," Twilight said. I stood there silently as Twilight approached me. "What's going on, Lunar? What's the matter?"

I gazed down into Twilight's beautiful violet eyes, then sighed heavily once more. I opted for telling Twilight the truth because the truth would hurt less than a consistent lie would.

"Princess Luna visited me in my sleep when we were in the park before," I began, "she told me that my dark magic was forming at an alarming pace and that this was unusual for an alicorn at this point."

"What did she say to do?" Twilight asked out of shock.

"She said there's nothing I can't do to stop this and that they will continue no matter what." I ruefully answered. I felt a tear escape from my eye and run down the side of my face as I continued. "I'm turning into a pony that I am not and that's why I'm acting the way I've been acting before. I don't mean any of this, really. It's just that my dark magic is making me do this. I know I cheated during that race, I do. But I didn't do that…my dark magic that's forming did that…"

"But," Twilight replied, tears forming in her eyes, "if you're becoming…this…this dark pony, then…" she trailed off, unable to finish what she wanted to say.

"Twilight," I boldly and seriously spoke, "I want you to show no mercy if we are face to face with each other. You will not harm me, nor I you. I want you to give it your all if you have to fight me. Promise me that you will show no mercy…"

Twilight looked into my eyes and quivered. "I can't do that, Lunar."

"I need you to do that, Twilight," I continued, "you're a strong pony and can do this…please…for me…"

Twilight still looked into my eyes with tears rushing down the side of her face. I wiped them away with my hoof and gently kissed her on the tip of her muzzle. She quietly sobbed, then told me that she will do her best through her sobbing.

"I'm sorry, my beautiful Princess…" I cried with Twilight.

* * *

Nightfall soon fell after Twilight had spent the evening crying in my hooves. I had fought back the majority of my tears, but some did manage to escape from my eyes. I felt awful, knowing that, as the dark magic keeps consuming me, I will have to fight somepony strong. But of all the ponies in Equestria, that one other pony I had to fight just so happened to be my marefriend Twilight, the Element of Magic.

She had cried herself to sleep in my hooves in my room but I was still awake. Using my good magic, I gently placed Twilight upon my bed and pulled the covers over her, giving her a goodnight kiss on her cheek as I left my room in favor of a nighttime flight. I needed to clear my head and only the nighttime air could do that for me, so that's what I did. I opened up the nearest window and flew out of it, flying high and far away from Ponyville to clear my mind.

Flying over Ponyville was nice, but I wanted to fly to one specific area within the Everfree Forest. It was a private area that seemingly had no trees around, and had a perfect view of Princess Luna's beautiful moon. I flew to that one specific area and touched base with the ground firmly. I sat down and gazed up at the beautiful waning crescent as I began wondering how the dark magic will transform me into a wicked colt of darkness. Bad visions soon started entering into my head and pretty soon, I found myself having a nightmare while I was awake.

All of my fears were slowly coming true and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop them from happening. I know that Princess Luna told me that I am strong and can overcome this, but I know her, and I know her well. The way she told me what was happening made it seem like she knew that this will happen and that there won't be a single thing we could do about it. She knew my fate and she knew it well.

Princess Luna knew I would fall; it would only be a matter of time. She knew that the darkness would consume me; it would only be a matter of how and when. She knew that this would happen after she saw her vision; it would only be a matter of what I became after this was over. And, most importantly, she knows where I'll end up eventually. It will only be a matter of when.

There won't be a single thing I can do to stop the inevitable doom from happening. Even if I remove myself from society, I will still come back and the darkness inside of me will…I don't even want to think about it…Twilight will have to learn how to move on without me being there for her for a while…

I rubbed my eye with my hoof and determined that, based off of the positioning of the moon, it had to have been somewhere between midnight and one in the morning, closer to one though. I got up from where I was and began flying back towards Ponyville. I was flying back a bit slower than usual primarily because I still had loads of visions and bad nightmares replaying in my head. I wanted to at least attempt to get them all out by the time I arrived back at the castle, but that doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

Peering my head into my room, I saw that Twilight was still fast asleep in a position different than where I left her on the bed. I slyly smiled, then entered fully into my room, setting myself down on one of the chairs that I had. I stared at my sleeping beauty for some time, then slowly began to drift off myself. I tried fighting back and resisting the urge to sleep, but fell to the likes of the sandpony. I fell asleep for the rest of the night on that chair.

* * *

An open field is where I am. A darkened sky is what I see. A clock that reads two-thirty in the afternoon is what I question, but soon find out the answer to.

I find myself in Ponyville town square in the middle of the afternoon, but with a bright full moon risen high in the sky. I look around, seeing a numerous amount of ponies running around, frightened by something, but what?

I found out when a shadow of a pony reigned down over me. I turned around to see a relatively tall pony above me. This pony looked fairly familiar with their flowing, sparkling black mane, their black coat, and their full moon cutie mark…wait…a full moon cutie mark?

"Fear us, my subjects!" The pony shouted. "Our night will last FOREVER!"

"Princess Luna?" I questioned. I only did that because they said 'our night.'

"It isn't your night!" I heard another pony shout out.

I looked down towards the ground to see who shouted that and noticed that it was Rainbow Dash who said that. She was accompanied by five other ponies - most likely Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy - but my focus was on the final pony - Twilight.

"You dare challenge us?" The pony above me evilly chuckled. "You simply must be joking."

"The only joke that's here is you!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"So be it then." The unknown pony smirked. He then shot out a wicked beam of dark magic, missing all of my friends down below…except for Twilight.

"TWILIGHT!" I screamed, rushing down to check on her. I crashed into the ground and tried holding up a collapsed Twilight, but no matter what I did, I couldn't help Twilight because my hooves were phasing right through her. "Twilight…" I began crying. "No…please…"

Around me, the world had started collapsing within itself and everything began turning dark and fading to black. The last thing to fade to black was my loving Twilight as I was left alone by myself…crying over the loss of my marefriend…

Why was I seeing this? What would make me have to see Twilight die in my own hooves with my very own eyes? I was still crying over the loss of my Twilight, crying alone in nothing but the dark void I was in. I was left alone in this little void I was in. I knew all of this was a mere dream - I really did - otherwise the world wouldn't have collapsed on itself like it did. It was all fake but it all seemed so real. I heard some hoofsteps coming from behind me and turned around, trying to wipe away my visible tears. Turns out that the hoofsteps belonged to none other that Princess Luna.

"Enough, my faithful pupil," Princess Luna hugged me, "none of this is real."

"I know," I said, wiping my tears away, "I know…"

"Then why are you sad?"

I was aghast as Princess Luna asked that. "I just saw my Twilight die in front of me by a pony I don't know!"

"'By a pony you don't know'?" Princess Luna repeated.

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

"That pony is in fact somepony you know, Prince Lunar," Princess Luna told me, resting one of her hooves on my chest.

"Who is that pony then?" I eagerly asked, that way I could protect Twilight at all costs from them.

"Well," Princess Luna trailed off before picking up again, "that pony was you in the not-so-distant future."

I was shocked and baffled by Princess Luna's explanation, so shocked that I couldn't even respond back with something.

"You are spiraling into the darkness very rapidly," Princess Luna told me, "I fear that what you just saw not too long ago will happen by nightfall tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!?" I repeated, sounds of being worried sounding in my voice.

"Precisely," Princess Luna ruefully said, "I alert you to stay away from your friends and loved ones as this takes over. The longer you stay with them, the more the darkness will rage and destroy you internally. I know that you are a strong pony, but even the strongest of ponies fall from time to time. I know you very well, Lunar, but things will not be the same after these events take place. I know you mean no harm, but the darkness inside of you does."

"What do I do then?" I asked, tears filling my eyes. "I can't just leave my friends abruptly like that…I just can't do that…"

"It has to be done, Lunar," Princess Luna hugged me, "it will be a tough choice to make and execute, but it has to be made."

"Can you promise me one thing, Princess Luna?" I asked uncertainly.

"What is it, my faithful pupil?" Princess Luna smiled.

"Can you promise me to watch over Princess Twilight for me while I'm gone, please?" I requested, tears filling my eyes.

"I…I will do just that…" Princess Luna agreed.

"Thank you very much, my reliable and elegant teacher." I replied.

The dark void had then started collapsing on itself and I knew that this meant that I was waking up. Princess Luna looked at me and told me that this was her work; that she was waking me up so that I could get a head start on removing myself from society.

"Go," she told me, "go as far away as possible and don't stop until you feel satisfied that you will not wreak havoc on these ponies."

"I will, Princess Luna," I replied, "it has been an honor to have had you as a mentor and a friend."

"And the feeling is mutual, Prince Lunar Nights." Princess Luna replied before I woke up entirely.

* * *

I looked around and noticed that I was still in the chair I sat down in originally, looking at Twilight rest her weary head of hers. I got up from the chair and quietly approached Twilight from the right side. I looked down at her, tears starting to fill my eyes. Some of the tears escaped from my eyes and started running down the side of my face as I stared at her beautiful face, which I saw was smiling with the moonlight that was shining in the room.

I thought back to when I became an alicorn, how Twilight was there by my side. I thought back even further than that to when I was being taught about the magic of friendship by Twilight. Those were some magical moments I've had in my life and I will always cherish them, even after I'm long gone from this world. I bent down and kissed my sleeping beauty on her forehead, right below her horn.

"Goodbye, my darling Twilight," I quietly cried. I tried my best not to let the tears fall from my eyes onto Twilight as I told her goodbye.

Twilight shifted and adjusted herself slightly, revealing all of her face to me, which was smiling even more brightly now. That smile will definitely fade to frowns of worry tomorrow once she notices that I am gone. But what she won't know is that this is for her own good and for the good of the entire kingdom. I will try my best to keep my evil self from harming the love of my life.

I stood back up, crying my eyes out as I made my way towards the window. Taking one last look at Twilight, I opened up the window quietly and flew out of it one final time, away from Ponyville, away from Equestria, and away to go face my biggest fear.

"Goodbye, Twilight…" I cried, flying over the Everfree Forest and further away from everypony.

 _ _Go,__ rang Princess Luna's words, __go as far away as possible and don't stop until you feel satisfied that you will not wreak havoc on these ponies.__

"I will make sure to do just that, Princess Luna…" I said, wiping a tear from my eye in the process.

I flew far, far away from Ponyville and continued in my pursuits to remove myself from society in order to protect everypony in Equestria.

* * *

This is it. The final frontier…sort of anyway. In the back of my mind, the darkness and it's wicked power was starting to take over, but I wasn't completely satisfied with where I was just yet. I was a hefty distance away from Ponyville or any town in Equestria really, but still felt that I needed to get even further away, for I did not want anypony to get hurt by my actions.

Landing in a nearby field because the dark magic has taken away my ability to fly, I continued running in the direction I was going. Eventually, the moon reached its peak in the sky and was shining my way to go. At the same time, I began to feel a piercing headache slow me down, though I continued going. The headache was killing me, but I wanted to keep going until I felt that I knew everypony back home would be safe, and I forced myself to do just that. I felt my pace slowing down with each passing second, but forced myself to keep going, no matter what the situation would have been.

I finally was forced to stop as the headache I was experiencing became too unbearable for me to take. I collapsed on the ground and started holding my head as tightly as I could. I shouted out of pain and could feel the dark magic reign over me and begin its actions of taking over my body and my mind.

"For Celestia's sake!" I cried. "Get out of me!"

"And why would we do that!?" The darkness inside of me replied.

"Get out!" I shouted. "Get out! _GET OU-OW-OUT!_ "

"That would be rather pointless now, seeing how we've made ourselves feel at home inside this body of yours!" The darkness menacingly spoke.

"I swear on my life if you do anything to anypony-" I began.

"What will you do, tough guy!?" The darkness interrupted. "Within another five minutes, we'll be the ones who will be in complete control of this body."

"I shall not let that happen!" I defended, trying my best to fight back against the magic that was trying to corrupt me.

"But it already has!" The darkness chuckled.

"What do you- _AHHHHHHHH!_ "

The darkness began sealing my fate and taking over control of my body. I attempted pushing the darkness out of my body, but the more I fought back and resisted, the quicker the transformation became. I cried out in pain as I began to feel my body grow slightly. I felt my teeth begin to reform themselves into fangs and also felt my mane flow in the nonexistent wind. I was finally put away for good as the darkness assumed total control of my body. As much as I fought now at this point, there was absolutely nothing I could do but hope for a miracle to happen...which seemed highly unlikely.

I could hear the darkness laughing maniacally as I struggled mightily against it, finally breaking to give up. I sat back and prayed for a miracle to happen and could only think about how Twilight and the others would react to me being a corrupted, self-centered psychopath.

"I finally did it! I finally took over control! I must say, though, that his old body was quite feeble and frail. I'm glad we got to change that as we pleased to match our liking. Reminds me of Nightmare Moon's body and how it once was.

"Hmm…what's this? Are these…are these memories? Is that…Princess Twilight? Oh how deliciously evil! You were Twilight's closest friend and now she'll witness first hoof your new power!"

I used my new, improved, and much more stronger wings to fly in the direction Ponyville was in. I figured who better to witness our power first than Twilight herself, considering she has some sort of meaning to this weak Prince.

"Hopefully my magic can do something more than defeat her!" I shouted, aimed directly at the Prince.

I tucked my wings in and swept them slightly, increasing my speed in the air significantly. I was flying probably as fast as light travels towards Ponyville and was making great time. I only stopped once, and that was when I saw the moon slowly start to descend and the sun start ascending. That angered me very much, so I soon stopped the descending of the moon with my magic, taking sole control of it from Princess Luna and raising it back up, blocking the sun from shining and keeping the night - my night - in perfect tact.

"It's my night now, you weak Princess!" I shouted in the sky, aiming those words to the absent Princess Luna. "My night, my body, and my power and there is _NOTHING_ you can do to stop me now!"

A bit of thunder roared following that declaration, providing some excellent filler in the background. I took advantage of the thunder roaring behind me as well as the joined lightning strike and stormed off towards Ponyville as quick as possible. There, waiting for me, will be a surprised Twilight and, hopefully, a defeated one.

* * *

 _ **~Meanwhile, at the same time in Canterlot~**_

"Sister!" Princess Celestia spoke. "Why is your moon still risen? The time has come to make way for the dawn."

"I understand that, my dear sister," Princess Luna replied, "but I cannot seem to lower it myself…"

"What do you mean?" Princess Celestia asked, a slight trace of fear being found in her voice.

"I think the time is now…" Princess Luna ruefully replied.

"Shall we go warn Princess Twilight about…you-know-who?" Princess Celestia wondered.

"I fear that if we do not beat him there," Princess Luna answered, "things will be too unbearable for Princess Twilight to handle."

"Then we must get to her at once!" Princess Celestia heeded.

* * *

"This night is truly eerie, sister."

"Why do you say that, Princess Luna?"

"Well, for one, there is a thunderstorm rapidly approaching from the western direction by itself, there happens to be a full moon when you and I both know that it's supposed to be a crescent moon working it's way towards a new moon, and I just can't help but wonder how he is…" explained Princess Luna.

"I know you must be in fear from these events, sister," Princess Celestia started, "I know I was when you transformed into Nightmare Moon all those years ago…"

"Please, sister," Princess Luna whispered, "do not bring up my wretched past…"

"I'm sorry, Luna," Princess Celestia replied.

Princess Luna started to increase her speed towards Ponyville and, ultimately, to Princess Twilight as she saw the random thunderstorm move in above the outskirts of Ponyville. She turned to her older sister, Princess Celestia and apologized for how she responded to her statement.

"It's quite alright, Princess Luna," Princess Celestia acknowledged, "both you and I are in fear for Princess Twilight and what will become of Prince Lunar. This isn't a laughing matter and serious actions must be taken."

"Agreed." Princess Luna said, arriving in Ponyville moments later.

The town below them was in a frenzy about the day-turned-night as the thunderstorm settled in from the west above Ponyville. To make matters even worse, the thunderstorm began striking Twilight's castle with bolts of lightning, damaging it heavily! This worried both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, for they did not know whether or not Princess Twilight was safe.

"We must hurry, my sister!" Princess Luna shouted. "There isn't much time!"

And with that said, the two regal sisters flew directly towards Princess Twilight's castle.

* * *

 _ **~Meanwhile, inside Princess Twilight's castle~**_

"Who-what's going on!? Lunar!?"

The castle was taking serious damage outside due to the lightning storm. Princess Twilight had woken up abruptly to the wicked sound of thunder and the horrific work of lightning, scrambling around to find her Prince Charming, Lunar. Looking out the nearest window for a split second to see what was going on, she could see a very dark colored pony up in the sky. This pony was a little bit larger than Lunar was, but had matched his definitive features perfectly. Putting two and two together, Twilight immediately recognized the alicorn as the corrupted Prince Lunar Nights.

"No…" Twilight gasped. "Not now, Lunar!"

Suddenly, there came a sound in the hallway behind Twilight. Looking behind her, the door had opened up and revealed to her both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia to her. They both rushed over to Twilight, urging her to leave the castle immediately.

"Why?" Twilight asked. "What's going on outside?"

"Prince Lunar has fallen under the control of the darkness and is striking your castle with bolts of lightning in specific places!" Princess Luna advised.

"We fear that a few more bolts in specified places will cause a partial collapse of the castle." Princess Celestia added.

Upon finishing that statement, another bolt of lightning struck the side of the castle, breaking off a large chunk of the castle and causing it to collapse. Princess Celestia urged heavily to evacuate the castle and round up the Element holders so that they could attempt a resistance against the corrupted Prince.

"Of course." Twilight replied, rushing out of the castle behind Celestia and Luna.

* * *

"Rarity!" called Twilight. "Rarity!"

Twilight was currently outside of the Carousel Boutique, knocking on Rarity's door to get her attention. A few moments later, the beautiful Element of Generosity opened the door, revealing her royal purple mane, luscious blue eyes, and fabulous white coat to the Princess of Friendship. Rubbing an eye with her hoof, Rarity proceeded to ask Twilight what was wrong.

"There's no time to explain, Rarity!" Twilight replied, running to get the next pony in line, Pinkie Pie. "I just need for you to round up Applejack and Rainbow Dash for me! It's an emergency!"

"Of course, darling!" Rarity called, but Twilight was too far away to hear the answer.

Twilight took herself and ran towards Sugar Cube Corner so she can get Pinkie Pie and, later on, Fluttershy. She needed to round up the Element holders immediately, but what they were to do without the Elements of Harmony was beyond her knowledge.

Arriving at Sugar Cube Corner in no time at all, Twilight immediately asked Mr. and Mrs. Cake for Pinkie Pie, who, out of nowhere, appeared out of the blue behind her.

"Hi, Twilight!" A happy Pinkie Pie smiled. "What's up?"

"An emergency, that's what is up, Pinkie," Twilight sighed, trying to catch her breath, "I need you to follow me as we go get Fluttershy."

"Okie dokie lokie," smiled Pinkie Pie as she bounced out of Sugar Cube Corner, following Twilight.

 _ _Oh Lunar,__ Twilight thought, _ _why did this have to happen to you?__

"What happened to him, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked, using her abilities to hear Twilight's thoughts.

"How did you…never mind," Twilight spoke, "He's been corrupted by dark alicorn magic…"

"And now he's attacking our town!" Rarity called from a distance with Applejack and Rainbow Dash following her.

 _ _Well, that's a good sign.__ Twilight told herself. "Come on. We need to go get Fluttershy now!"

With that said, all five friends rushed on over towards Fluttershy's cottage so they could go pick her up. Timing wasn't on their side as the corrupted Prince had struck the castle again, causing more chunks to collapse and come crashing down. Pretty soon, there will be no castle for Twilight to rule her kingdom in.

 _ _I don't want to do this to him,__ Twilight told herself, __but I have to…__

Twilight, seeing how the Elements of Harmony were no longer physically with them, had to prepare herself for the toughest decision she's ever had to make in her life. She had to get rid of the corrupted Prince once and for all…

How, you ask? By performing the same task Princess Celestia did to Princess Luna many years ago; by banishing Prince Lunar Nights to the moon.

"Fear us, my subjects!" The corrupted Prince shouted. "Our night will last FOREVER!"

Some thunder and lightning sounded and were seen upon the completion of that statement just then. In addition to that, Twilight Sparkle along with her friends had gathered around nearby. Rainbow Dash was the angriest of the group of six friends and actually rebelled against the corrupted Prince's words.

"It isn't your night!" Rainbow Dash yelled in response.

"You dare challenge us?" The corrupted Prince laughed. "You simply must be joking."

"The only joke that's here is you!" Rainbow Dash responded.

"So be it then!" The Prince angrily answered back, casting a beam of dark magic towards the group of six friends down below.

" _GET OUT OF THE WAY!_ " Screamed Twilight as the group of six friends all jumped out of the way just in the nick of time. Landing hard on the ground, Twilight glanced over to check on all of her friends to see if they had sustained any damage. "Is everypony alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Rainbow Dash answered, "just annoyed at him!"

"It isn't his fault, Rainbow," Twilight replied, nearly about to cry.

"Then whose is it!?" Rainbow Dash snapped.

"The dark magic inside of him…" Twilight said, some tears starting to escape her eyes.

"What do ya mean, Twilight?" asked Applejack.

"Princess Luna came to him in a dream and told him that his dark magic was forming at an unusually fast pace." Twilight answered, looking up towards the corrupted Prince Lunar. "An alicorn normally forms their alicorn magic first, then their dark magic much later in their life but the dark magic that takes shape is never as severe as his is right now…"

"Is there anything we can do to help him?" Fluttershy quietly asked.

"I fear that we may be too late to help him out…" Twilight ruefully said.

"That's no way to speak, Twilight!" Applejack told the emotionally destroyed alicorn Princess.

"There isn't anything a good old heaping of friendship can't do to help us out, Twi!" Rainbow Dash added.

Twilight looked to her friends for mounds of encouragement, but deep down, she knew that all hope was lost for Lunar without the Elements of Harmony to help them out. Still, she found enough determination and confidence to get herself up and formulate a plan.

"We need to get to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna immediately." Twilight advised her friends.

"What for?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"If we can't use the Elements of Harmony on my Lunar anymore," continued Twilight, "then getting the most powerful ponies to help us do what we need to do is the next best thing because, if you remember from when I faced off against Tirek, with their combined magic, plus Princess Cadance's alicorn magic, that is nearly as powerful as the magic in the rest of Equestria."

"So if we can get Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to help…?" Rarity began before trailing off.

"Then we might formulate a magic that is just as powerful, maybe even more powerful, than the Elements of Harmony…" finished Twilight.

The plan seemed like a long shot, but the six friends agreed that this is what they should do, seeing how Lunar's dark magic was far stronger than they had anticipated. They each ran off to find Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as soon as possible, while the corrupted Prince watched on.

"You can run, little ponies," he laughed, "and you can hide, but we will find you and we will terminate you!"

Twilight heard what Lunar's corrupted self said and couldn't help but slow her pace down slightly. She began to shed a couple more tears, thinking back to all the fun moments both Lunar and herself had shared since they met each other.

* * *

 _ _"Oh, uh...m-my name is, uh, Lunar Nights. I, uh, I'm Princess Luna's star pupil and I'm, uh, here to see Twilight Sparkle."__

 _ _"I've been expecting you, Lunar Nights. I just wasn't expecting you to be so..."__

* * *

 _ _"Now I want you to show me a levitation spell."__

 _ _"Sure thing, Twilight, what do you want me to levitate?"__

 _ _"Anything will do, Lunar."__

 _ _"Okay, Twilight, hold on tight."__

 _ _"What do y- whoa!"__

* * *

 _ _"So, friendship means what to you, Lunar?"__

 _ _"Like I said earlier, it is magic to me and I am blessed that you showed me the true light of way towards it. Without it, I would still be an independent pony, living alone, which I now know is not the true path that I should have been on. Now I know that making friends, meeting acquaintances, and being social are all just a few of the things that shape a pony into being a better, brighter, more likable one…Together, I am one with my friends, all of us, we come together, and together we are friends; one friend, truly united by all the common bonds and problems that we all share."__

* * *

 _ _"Thank you for all you've given to me, Prince Lunar Nights."__

 _ _"Thank you for everything you've done, Princess Twilight."__

* * *

Twilight cried heavily on the inside as she continued tracking down Princesses Celestia and Luna. Se knew that, as she replayed each of these memories over and over in her head, that this would probably be the final time she would see Lunar for a long, long time.

Up ahead in the distance, she could see the reflecting mane of Princess Celestia and, seconds later, Princess Luna's as well. Rushing up to the two regal sisters, Twilight explained the entire situation to them and their plan, hoping that they would agree to help out.

"I'm sorry for what has become of Prince Lunar, Princess Twilight," Princess Celestia said.

"But, we will do all we can to help you defeat the Prince." added Princess Luna.

"I think there is only one option we have," Twilight spoke, looking in the direction of where Lunar was - in front of the moon - then looking behind him.

Princesses Celestia and Luna both looked as well and immediately understood what Twilight was referring to. Looking back at Twilight, whom was being supported by her friends right now, Princess Celestia explained the consequences of what was going to happen to a shaken up Twilight.

"Princess Twilight," she began, "this will be a tough decision for you to make, but if we go through with what you plan to do, we won't see him for a long, long time…" She turned to Princess Luna and thought back to when she herself had to do it to her younger sister, then began fighting back some tears of her own. "Your friends probably won't see him ever again and when he returns, there's no telling what may happen…"

"I know…" cried Twilight. "But it has to be done…"

"Then we haven't a moment to spare…" Princess Celestia continued, placing a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, comforting her as best as she could.

"It is _MY_ night," the rouge Prince shouted towards the scrambling and frightened ponies below him, "not Luna's night anymore!"

Princess Twilight could hear the Prince's rouge comments and couldn't help but shed a few tears as she, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and all the others slowly gathered around, forming a semi-circle around Prince Lunar Nights. Lunar's corrupted self looked down at the group of eight ponies and couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, look at who we have here!" He shouted at them. "If it isn't Twilight Sparkle and the gang! I see you've also brought Princesses Luna and Celestia with you as well. I hope you don't mind, Luna, but this is my night now and I'll be taking it all from you! And as for you, Celestia, your so-called precious sun will never see the sky, ever again! Ever!"

"You shall not and will not prevail, Prince," Princess Celestia replied.

"Oh, I doubt that, Celestia," Lunar smirked. He then sent over a sinister beam of magic as a warning sign to the ponies, only to have it be redirected somewhere else by Princess Celestia herself.

"We do not wish to bring you harm, Prince Lunar," Celestia commented, "please just work with us."

"Funny," Lunar chuckled, "because I plan on bringing harm to you all!"

With that being said, Lunar curled into a ball and started to cast a powerful wave of dark magic, scattered out all around him. Eyes glowing white, Lunar uncurled himself from the ball position and scattered his hooves out in all four directions with the wave of magic spreading out in said directions. Princess Twilight was too hurt to do anything, but did manage to be protected by Princess Celestia's own protection spell. Twilight looked up at her rouge alicorn Prince, knowing that the alicorn she knew has long been gone. Shedding a few tears from her eyes, Twilight looked towards everypony else and knew that it was now or never if they wanted to defeat him.

"So then everypony get into a formation!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

The friendships that crafted the mane six together all began to touch each other and wrap around themselves. The Elements of Harmony may no longer be with them, but it is their friendship that keeps them together with them. The rouge Prince noticed what was going on between the six friends below him and tried to break them apart by having powerfully dark magic rain down on them, but Princess Celestia and Princess Luna forbade that by casting protection spells on the six friends, keeping them out of harm's way.

Tears rushing down the side of Twilight's face, she thought back once more to the good times she has shared with Lunar Nights in the time that they knew each other. She thought about the lessons of friendship she has taught him, the amount of friends he's made during the tenure in Ponyville, even the games of chess she has played with Lunar, winning them all but one. Twilight looked into Lunar's eye and thought back to the night before he became an alicorn and all the studying they did together in order to accomplish the feat. She thought about how she helped him fly, giving him a few pointers along the way, but most of all, she thought of their proudest moment together: the coronation ceremony. Nothing was more perfect than that ceremony and she thought back to it and replayed it over and over in her head.

"I'm so sorry I have to do this to you, Lunar," Twilight cried, forcing her eyes shut, "but this is for your pen good."

The magic of friendship - touched by each of the ponies below - helped shine a light onto Lunar, who grew angry and tried to fire a beam of dark magic over towards the six in order to break them apart. Fortunately, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were both holding Lunar still as best as they could while the magic of friendship was being summoned.

Lunar tried his best to break free of Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's grip, but it was to no avail as he was pelted with the magic of friendship within seconds. The magic shot him straight back towards the moon and did not stop until it reached there. Up in the sky, a white light shone itself, followed by a white ring that briefly surrounded the moon, then vanished. Looking up, Twilight knew that this was the final time she would see her strong stallion for a while as she now looked at the moon, whom was now looking back at her.

"I'm sorry…" cried Twilight.

Within moments, Princess Twilight was surrounded by her friends and by Princesses Celestia and Luna. They all offered their condolences and hugged Twilight as she wept over the loss of her Prince, Lunar Nights. Now, he was known as the Colt in the Moon and things will never be the same…


	3. A Night to Forget

_**A Night to Forget**_

How are nightmares made? Are they simply fears brought to us? Are they images that we see? Are they future events we see failing in front of our own eyes? Are they real? Are they fake? Are they dense or are they shallow?

These are questions I ask myself and other ponies ask me all the time, but my answer to them is "why do you want to know? Is it because you're curious? Is it because you're feeble? Is it that you're afraid of a terrible outcome? Are you brave enough to face your fears or do you need somepony else to help you face them?"

Of course, I haven't heard these questions in a long time because of my banishment to...where did I get banished to again...? Oh, that's right...the moon! I've been banished to the moon, did anypony care? Probably. Did they cry when I came here? Most definitely. Was she heartbroken? I can only assume so...

No, I'm not talking about Princess Luna, she has served her banishment long, long ago. I mean, after all...she was my mentor and teacher. Ironic, isn't it? The student has replicated the teacher so much that he's literally been imprisoned in the same place as she was long ago! I know why I'm here too...it's my fault that I'm here and the banishment was a light punishment compared to what should have happened to me.

You see, my nightmare was that I would be sentenced to death after what I had done to her and her friends before my banishment. But, I consider myself lucky that she loved me and that Celestia and Luna are the rulers of this country...Equestria...what I wouldn't give to go back to the equestrian society that is Equestria.

But no...I'm here, where I belong and will most likely die...although that wouldn't be possible, considering the fact that all alicorns tend to be immortal. Just look at Celestia and Luna. They're over a thousand years old! Same with Discord, even though he's only a draconequus, he's over a thousand years old too...although his stone stature might have had an affect on that...

You see, I've been alone for years, centuries, nearly a millennia, and I'm still trapped on this moon. I deserved to be sent here and have learned from my mistakes in the past. I've learned to control my dark magic and I've learned to be remorseful. I cannot take pride in what I've done before because I knew that I hurt other ponies...innocent ponies whose lives were all at risk...maybe it's destined that I will be here forever...I should be forevermore known as the Colt in the Moon...I know it isn't too original, believe me, I'm named after a princess with just an additional letter attached to my name.

 ***sigh*** I'm venting now...I do apologize for my venting. It's just that tomorrow night marks the one thousandth anniversary of my imprisonment on this lovely moon. One thousand years have come and have gone by and I'm still here. Her friends...my friends...they're most likely all dead by now...dead for over nine hundred years...her brother...oh god, her brother...I cannot bare to see how she is without her brother...neither Cadance if her husband has died too...

Times have changed, ponies have changed, but the stars and planetary movements all stay the same. Every single pony has looked up and has seen me at least once before. I just wish I could see her again...I miss her so very much...

My name is Lunar Nights. I am over one thousand years old. My lover is Princess Twilight Sparkle. I have been alone for over a thousand years. I have been imprisoned here for nearly that long and I am just about done with life as I knew it...

* * *

One last night here on this beautiful moon. I cannot believe I have been here for this long of time...I did truly deserve this spot. Even worse is that I don't think I'll be seeing my old friends when this is over tomorrow...if they'll even consider me to be a friend.

Looking at the Earth for all these years and not being able to go back to it really has set a tone on my dismembered life. I was trusted with these alicorn wings and I failed Princess Luna miserably...I was also entrusted with some of the most powerful magic in Equestria and still I fell to the likeness of the darkness.

Can I really be that weak, but at the same time, be that strong...?

I'm ashamed of myself for even giving in to that pathetic darkness. I am a lot stronger than that...or at least I was stronger than that... ***sigh***...now I can't even perform the most basic of spells...

This must have been how Princess Luna felt when she was banished here. I love the moon very much and the astrological signs and signals, but having them around all day and all night is getting a bit irritable. Eternal night surely would have been a bad thing if Princess Celestia had fallen to her younger sister.

 ***sigh***...please...let me go home...I miss Princess Twilight very much...

* * *

It's finally time! This is the day I have waited over a thousand years!

The day I am released from captivity on the moon.

The stars are aligning themselves along both of my sides and forming this sort of path for me to travel down. The path travels from my current location on the moon all the way to what seems like Equestria, assuming Equestrian borders have remained the same. I started walking down the path, only to be swept up and taken by the stars themselves, making this journey go by a lot quicker.

I looked around me and saw all of the stars that have kept me company over the years fly right by my head. As I got closer to the earth, the ride gradually got slower, up until the point where I was actually on my hooves again. It was the first time in over a thousand years where I was on my hooves under the influence of gravity and it felt very weird. I started flapping my wings and slowly started hovering in the air. Flying was a bit more of a natural instinct to me now that I've had my wings for over a thousand years.

"Where am I?" I spoke to nopony in particular.

I looked around, trying to familiarize myself with the scenery once more, but couldn't remember anything at all. Since it was night, I figured I'd fly in one direction high up in the sky so that I can see where anything was. After flying for maybe about ten minutes, I saw a very large, crystallized castle ahead of me.

"Is that the Crystal Castle?" I asked myself.

I flew over towards the castle and dropped down to the ground slowly, touching base with my hooves. I staggered over to the front of the castle and was immediately stopped by a strong looking guard.

"Halt!" He shouted at me. "State your name and business!"

"M-my name is Prince Lunar Nights," I sheepishly answered, "don't you recognize me?"

"There is no such Prince by that name in Equestria!" The guard continued. "What is your real name and what is your business with Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

"Princess Twilight?" I asked. "This castle is Twilight's?"

"State your name and business!" The guard roared, holding up a spear at me.

"Whoa, whoa!" I frighteningly spoke, shuffling back a bit.

Just then, the front of the doors had begun to open. Out stepped a pony, although it was too dark to see who exactly it was. The guard, still holding up the spear towards my neck, turned around and acknowledged the pony walking out of this castle.

"Going home for the evening, Miss Rarity?" He asked.

"Rarity?" I repeated. __How's that possible? She should be dead...dead for over nine hundred years...How is she still alive...?__

"Most certainly, kind sir," Rarity answered. She noticed the spear being held up to my neck and asked the guard a question a bit quietly, although I could still hear it, but barely. "Who is this pony we have here?"

"He claims to be a Prince," the guard replied, "a Prince by the name of...Lunar Nights."

"'Lunar Nights'!?" Rarity screeched, moving out of the way and stopping next to me. She looked me over before continuing to talk.

"R-Rarity?" I asked before she spoke.

"Sir," Rarity told the guard, "would you mind removing the spear from Lunar's neck?"

"But he is a threat to Princess Twilight!" The guard continued, shoving the spear a bit closer to my skin.

"No he's not." Rarity defended. "He's a Prince. He was the Colt in the Moon. Haven't you heard of that legend, dear?"

"This is the Colt in the Moon?" The guard replied, pulling the spear only slightly away.

Rarity nodded. "Yes. Now if you could be so nice as to take the spear away, I'll gladly explain everything to you, darling."

"If that is what you want, Miss Rarity," the guard softly spoke, "so be it." He then removed the spear from my neck, allowing me to stand back up straight.

 _ _Thank Celestia...__ I told myself.

"Are you alright, dear?" Rarity asked me, placing something over my back, something that felt much like feathers.

"Uh, yeah..." I spoke, "R-Rarity?"

"I see you remember me," Rarity smiled, "or really, you remember my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother."

 _ _That explains one thing...__ I thought. "Your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother?" I repeated.

"I'm not the same Rarity you knew." Rarity continued.

 _ _This should make for an interesting story...__ I told myself.

* * *

"So you're Rarity's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great granddaughter?" I asked.

"Most certainly," replied Rarity, holding a feathered wing above my back as some sort of support.

"And you have the same name?" I continued.

"Precisely, dear," smiled Rarity.

I took a look back at the feathered wing to see if it indeed was Rarity's and not just a figment of my imagination. Rarity must have looked back as well, for she lightly giggled and rested said wing on my back.

"And yes," she giggled, "I do have wings."

I looked back to check to see if she also had a horn. Unfortunately, her mane was in the way and I couldn't see if she had a horn unless I was a bit rude, which was the last thing I wanted to do.

Rarity noticed me trying to get another look at her face and smiled at me, turning her head in the process.

"If you are trying to see if I have a horn, Prince," Rarity started, "let me assure you that I do indeed have one."

"So..." I quietly spoke. "You're an alicorn then, right?"

"Most certainly, darling," answered Rarity.

I was both amazed and befuddled at the fact that Rarity was an alicorn. "But...how is that possible?"

"My mother was a Pegasus and my father was a phenomenally civil, wonderful, and handsome unicorn." answered Rarity.

"But genetics are supposed to say that you'll be one or the other," I specified, "not both."

"Both of my parents carried the alicorn gene." Rarity told me.

"The alicorn gene?" I questioned. "I cannot say that I have even heard about or read about that gene."

"Well allow me to explain, dear," Rarity smiled, walking with me down one of the streets.

"Please." I spoke with anticipation.

"The alicorn gene is the gene that carries the traits of all three types of ponies," Rarity explained, "Earth ponies, Pegasi, and, my favorite, unicorns. My parents held this gene in their DNA, but it was recessive, which is why mother was a Pegasus and father was a unicorn. Both of them held it, which resulted in a twenty-five percent chance of me being an alicorn, which you know what happened now, dear."

"Amazing." I replied, speechless beyond belief.

Rarity smiled at me. "I may have the same cutie mark as the Rarity you know, but science fascinates me to no ends as well."

"So you're a fashionista that likes science," I smirked, "is that right?"

Rarity poked the tip of her muzzle with her hoof, signaling that I got my assumption right on the nose. I smiled as we kept walking along the road, heads held up high.

"So, Rarity," I said, breaking the brief silence between us, "what has happened here throughout the thousand years I was gone?"

"Oh," Rarity giggled, "where shall I begin?"

"I don't expect you to know every detail prior to you being born," I smiled, "so just start from wherever you can."

"Well, in that case," Rarity replied, rubbing my back with her wing, "after you were sent away, it is rumored that Princess Twilight went through a deep, dark depression period."

"Really?" I slightly gasped.

"Yes," continued Rarity, "she almost fell under the spells of the dark magic and the dark forces during this time."

"How frightening..." I quietly spoke.

"Most certainly, dear," Rarity said, "and after she recovered, she ruled over Ponyville since then, also taking over Canterlot for a brief period of time while Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were both too sick to perform their royal duties."

"Interesting..." I said. __Sounds like Twilight was very busy while I was gone...__ I looked back up at the castle that now housed my Twilight and sighed very slightly. __Don't worry, my little Sparkle. I'm almost home now...__

"Very, dear," Rarity responded.

"Were there any villains that popped up during my absence?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Only a couple," Rarity replied, "Queen Chrysalis popped up again as well as Lord Tirek."

"At the same time!?" I fearfully responded.

"No, darling," Rarity acknowledged, "but it wasn't too much of an issue for Twilight to take care of. Both of them were taken care of with a little bit of ease by her while you were gone."

"How about the Tree of Harmony?" I questioned. "How is the tree doing?"

"The Tree of Harmony is fine." Rarity answered.

"Does it still house the Elements of Harmony?" I wondered.

"Not anymore," Rarity spoke.

"Where are they now?"

"Princess Twilight houses them inside the castle now." Rarity told me. "The tree gained enough power back to not need the Elements supporting it again."

"That's good..." I replied. __Hopefully the Everfree Forest doesn't invade Equestria again...__

"I suppose so." Rarity smiled. "And I'm just like the Rarity you knew."

"How so?" I questioned. "You're an alicorn and the Rarity I knew was only a unicorn mare."

"Ah, yes," Rarity giggled, "but she also was the Element of Generosity, much like myself."

"I see." I responded. "So you are just like her, with the exception of the wings is all."

"Exactly," Rarity smiled, "and the others are more or less just like their ancestors too."

"'Others'?" I bluntly spoke.

Rarity giggled again, "Come, you have much to see..."

"Where are you taking me, Rarity?" I asked, unsure of where we were going after Rarity used her magic to put a blindfold over my eyes.

Rarity laughed, pushing me up some flights of stairs. "You'll see very soon."

I wanted to answer back with something else, but was cut off by the sound of a door opening. How was I so sure that it was a door? Generally speaking, nothing really squeaks and creaks much like a door does when you open it very, very slowly. I may have been absent for over a thousand years, but hearing a door open up to me still sounded the same, even when I left all those years ago.

"Come along," Rarity chuckled, pushing me inside a building. To what I was being shunted inside of, I was not too sure of that.

"Where are we?" I asked, half-knowing that I would not receive a direct answer in the process.

"We are in Equestria, silly," Rarity replied.

"Yeah," I smiled, "I know that. Where exactly in Equestria are we?"

"Why, we're in Ponyville, dear," Rarity spoke, giggling in the process as I was being pushed up another flight of stairs.

"Okay," I said, "and the exact point we are in within Ponyville is...?"

"A building!" Rarity exclaimed.

I chuckled slightly. __Pretty sure the Rarity I knew wouldn't be answering the questions like that...or be an alicorn for that matter...__ "Okay...I'm not going to know exactly where I am until this blindfold is taken off of me, am I?"

"Exactly, darling," answered Rarity, pushing me to the left once we cleared the new flight of stairs.

"How far are we from...wherever it is that we're going to?" I asked.

"Not too far now, Prince," Rarity told me, slightly pushing me to the right a bit.

"Are we inside the castle?" I guessed.

"Maybe we are," Rarity giggled back in response, "maybe we aren't."

"I'll take that as a yes." I boldly chuckled back.

"Let me ask you something, Prince," Rarity said, pushing me a bit more to the right now.

"Please," I responded, "call me Lunar...I don't really deserve the title of Prince at this current moment."

"If that is what you wish for, Lunar," Rarity answered, giggling more in the process, "so be it..."

"Thank you," I obliged, "now what was it that you wanted to ask me?"

"I want to know how things were between Princess Twilight and yourself."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," continued Rarity, "I want to know how it was dating somepony of royalty, Pri...I mean, Lunar."

"It was fantastic," I responded, immediately being brought back to the plenty of happy memories I shared with Twilight...my Twilight, my little Sparkle...

"What did you two do," Rarity added, "if you don't mind me asking, dear,"

"It's okay," I answered, being pushed a tad to the left in the process, "I don't mind. Where do you want me to begin?"

"Begin from where you two met." Rarity told me.

"Okay," I said, smiling in the process, "just know that you're in for a long story."

"Don't worry," exclaimed Rarity, "I do fancy longer love stories."

"Good," I smiled brightly, "well, I originally was a unicorn colt that resided in Baltimare while I was a student for Princess Luna long, long ago."

"Is that so?" asked Rarity, pushing me to the left a bit more and opening a door in the process.

"Yes," I answered, continuing on with my story, "well, one day, I was sitting in my home, catching up on my studies, when Princess Luna sent me a letter referring to one of my books."

"Which one was it?"

"It was one of Star Swirl the Bearded's spell books," I answered, "I'm certain that Twilight brought up his name before, correct?"

"Right," Rarity told me, "a bit frequently too."

"So you know of him then, right?"

"Yes I do, dear."

"Well," I continued, "this one particular book had a spell of his that was left incomplete. Twilight received a copy from Princess Celestia, I received one from Princess Luna, and I can only assume that Princess Cadance has a copy for herself if she ever adopts a star pupil herself."

"Indeed," Rarity said, "but why was this particular spell left incomplete?"

"It was left incomplete because Star Swirl did not understand friendship the way Twilight did," I replied, "nor did I at the time."

"So what happened?"

"Princess Luna told me in the letter mentioned earlier to take this book and travel to Ponyville to enlist the help of Princess Twilight Sparkle with my way of friendship," I explained, "but she purposely left out what Twilight looked like and left me in the dark, so to speak, looking for Twilight when I arrived here."

"Then what happened after you met Twilight for the first time?"

"I was awestruck." I smiled, blushing a bit, thinking back to when I first laid eyes on the beautiful, purple colored mare with her lovely lilac colored eyes, "her mane was beautifully kept. Her eyes melted my heart, as did her smile and laugh...her voice - dear Celestia, her voice - made me weak in the knees...she was perfectly beautiful..."

"That's so amazing." Rarity spoke, sounding a bit breathless in the process.

"She was amazing." I replied. "But...she probably won't forgive me for what I did to her before my banishment."

"Oh, I don't know about that..." a new voice told me.

My ears shot up sky high as soon as I heard that soft, soothing voice. I immediately knew whose voice penetrated my eardrums. "P-P-Princess T-Twilight?" I stammered. "Is that you?"

Rarity kindly removed the blindfold from my eyes and I blinked a few times so that my vision could focus on where I was right now. I stared straight ahead of me, for the pony that was currently rested atop of a throne was the beautiful Princess Twilight herself. My heart melted when I saw her and I immediately ran over to her.

"Oh, Twilight!" I cried. "I've missed you so much!"

Twilight smiled, lifting herself from her throne and rushing over to see me. "I've missed you too, Prince Lunar!"

I grabbed Twilight with my front two hooves and hugged her and held her close to me tightly, but not too tight. Twilight did the same to me as she collapsed her head into my shoulder and buried her face into my neck, crying tears of joy in the process.

"My little Sparkle..." I whispered to her, "I've finally come home..."

"And I've waited for you to come home for such a long time, my strong and handsome Prince," Twilight replied in a muffled tone, but in a tone that I could understand.

"I've waited so long for this..." I sighed with relief.

"As have I," Twilight replied, lifting herself from my neck and kissing me directly on my lips.

 _ _And I have waited so long for this as well...__ I thought. __A wait that was worth it, in the end...__

We stood in the center of the room for a little while longer, hugging and kissing each other for the first time in over a thousand years while Rarity watched us in the process. I was so happy to be home and was so happy at this current moment to finally have my Twilight back in my hooves with me...nothing could bring me down...

Twilight continued hugging me for what seemed like forever. I did not want to let her go and I could tell that she didn't want to let me go either. Without lifting myself from Twilight, I addressed her for the first time in a very long time.

"I've waited such a long time to do that, Princess..." I sighed in relief.

"As did I, my Prince," Twilight cried in my hooves.

"How did you manage to do that for all these years?"

"My heart was in the right place and was kept with you, Lunar." Twilight answered, kissing my muzzle sweetly.

I blushed upon hearing Twilight's answer. "That's one of the sweetest things I've heard from you, my Princess."

Twilight smiled and poked my blush. "And there's more where that came from, Prince Lunar."

I chuckled a bit as Twilight poked my blush. "I don't deserve to be a Prince again...I did horrible things and would have done even more horrible things if you didn't stop me..."

Twilight kissed my muzzle again. "You're a Prince because you proved to Princess Luna that you were ready to take on the responsibilities of becoming one. It wasn't your fault, Lunar. Every alicorn has dark magic inside of them - you, Luna, Celestia, even myself. It was just unfortunate that your dark magic overtook you."

I looked down out of shame. I felt ashamed and a bit embarrassed. What Twilight just told me made me feel like I was a weak Prince. Twilight lifted my head with her hoof and smiled brightly at me, showing her signature white-toothed smile.

"But," she slowly continued, "you're here now with me and that is all that matters." She kissed my lips briefly and continued on. "Come, Lunar...let me show you to your throne."

I was surprised. "I...I have a throne...?"

Twilight nodded. "Of course you do!" she smiled. "You're a Prince so you should have one."

"But, I've been gone for such a long time," I exclaimed, "why would I have one?"

"Because I made a special arrangement to have one put in for when you came back." Twilight told me, showing me a throne that had my cutie mark on it - a bright full moon with little stars surrounding the moon.

I was both happy and still in a state of surprise upon seeing my throne. Turning to Twilight, I wrapped my hooves around her and pulled her close to me for a hug. I had whispered thank you to her and felt a small tear leaving my left eye.

"You're welcome, Prince Lunar," Twilight whispered in response, returning my hug with one of her own.

This particular hug lasted a few moments and, like before, I did not want to let go of my Twilight, but I had to. Twilight giggled, claiming that my mane was tickling her behind her ear. I had missed her sweet and innocent giggle; it had melted my heart.

"What else did I miss, Twilight?" I asked with eagerness.

"Not much, really," Twilight replied, "a couple of more villains were defeated, boundaries have slightly changed, ponies have changed...nothing too serious."

"That...reminds me," I spoke up, "Rarity is an alicorn now?"

"She is," answered Twilight, "but that's not the same Rarity you know."

"I know that now," I chuckled, "Rarity is Rarity's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great granddaughter, as she told me."

"Yes, she is."

"But I don't get why she's an alicorn though...I've never heard of the alicorn gene before."

"That's because I created that gene," Twilight stated.

"You created the alicorn gene?" I repeated, making sure I wasn't hearing things.

Twilight nodded. "I took out a portion of the alicorn gene from my DNA and injected it into their parents."

"'Their' parents?" I said.

"Yes."

"So...?"

"Rarity is not the only alicorn I helped create," Twilight told me. "Our other friends, Lightning Dash, Reticent, Orange Apple, and Pinkie Pie all are alicorns too because I injected all their parents with the gene and made it the dominant gene in all of their DNA."

"Lightning Dash I assume is Rainbow Dash's bloodline?" I asked.

Twilight nodded. "Reticent is Fluttershy's bloodline, Orange Apple, I assume you can tell, and the obvious one, aside from Rarity, is Pinkie Pie."

"Is this Pinkie Pie as spastic as the Pinkie from before I left?"

Twilight giggled. "I'll let you find that out for yourself, Lunar. It is getting late and I've had a long day."

I smiled, wrapping a wing around Twilight's body. "Want me to help you to your bed, Princess?"

"If you could, that would be great." Twilight whispered to me, kissing my cheek. "And maybe you can spend the night with me in my bed, darling."

"You sound like Rarity when you say 'darling.'" I chuckled, helping Twilight outside of the throne room and helping her to her bedroom, though she was mostly leading the way while I was just holding her close to my heart.

I was a very happy colt right now and was definitely proud to be back with my little Princess Twilight once more and was proud that she still remembered me and accepted me for who I truly am, not who I was for that brief period of time a thousand years ago.

* * *

That night, we had laid in Twilight's bed together, which was the first time in a very long time we had done that. I had craved this for the last one thousand years and felt calm serenity and peace knowing that her body was next to mine after all these years. We literally spent all night talking to each other, reminding each other of our beautiful past, steering away from the one little blemish we've had.

All these years I had been long gone, trapped in the ever so beautiful moon, I always dreamt of the day that I would be back here. Granted, the way Princess Luna returned - as Nightmare Moon, mind you - she returned with vengeance, trapping Princess Celestia in an undisclosed location and setting out to destroy the Elements of Harmony, of which she failed obviously. I thought I was going to come back the same way - angered and spiteful - but came back the exact opposite - calm and collective.

Twilight wanted to sleep, but her body kept her awake for the entire night. Like I said, we reminded ourselves of our pleasantful past, skipping over the little blemish we experienced. The past is passed; no sense in going back to change it.

She looked over to me, smiling very brightly, as I looked over to her, smiling and feeling content and grateful. She kissed my lips and I wrapped my hoof around her soft body, gently pulling her towards me. She continued kissing me slowly, lovingly, fueled by the long-locked passion she had for me. I returned the favor to her, kissing her emotionally upon her beautiful lips, driven by even more passion for her presence after the thousand year ban.

She slowly pulled away from me and looked me square in my eyes. I smirked out of love, losing myself within her beautiful, hypnotic lilac eyes. She told me that she loved me and I told her that I loved her.

Our wings then wrapped around each other as we now kept our bodies even warmer. I stared intensely into her lilac eyes, losing myself in the memories I've shared with Twilight. She stared back into mine, probably doing the same thing.

"Tell me that we'll be together forever, Lunar," Twilight whispered to me, resting the tip of her muzzle along the tip of mine.

I smiled and kissed her muzzle lightly. "We'll be together forever, Twily."

"I love you, Lunar." Twilight told me.

"I love you more, Twilight." I replied.

"Lunar," Twilight whispered, pressing closer against my body,.

"Yes, Twilight," I answered in a bassy-toned voice.

"I want to start a family with you." she told me, locking eye contact with me.

"I've always wanted to start a family with you, Twily," I admitted, "ever since I got my wings and we've ruled together, I wanted to start a family with you. I have a hunch that you would be a phenomenal mother. I have a hunch that you would be a phenomenal wife."

"Wife?" Twilight repeated.

I nodded in response. Let's be realistic for a brief moment: yes, we lived together. Yes, we did things together. Yes, we ruled together. However, those were all as a coltfriend/marefriend couple. I want to take it to the next level and dedicate our immortal lives to making Twilight Sparkle very, very happy.

I saw a tear fall from Twilight's left eye. She smiled, wiping away her tear. "How long have you felt like this, Lunar?"

"Since before my banishment, my love," I replied.

"I've...I don't know what to say, Luny," Twilight said, having trouble finding words to describe how she was feeling.

"Then allow me, my little Sparkle," I offered, holding both of her front hooves with my front hooves. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, will you marry me?"

"Oh Lunar," cried Twilight happily, "yes! Yes! Yes, of course I'll marry you!"

Twilight kissed my lips repeatedly as she let out her loving emotions. I could tell she had been waiting for that question for a long time and I'm proud that she waited all that time just for me. It meant an awful lot to me that she waited for me when she could have just easily paired with somepony else. It meant even more to me that she said "yes" to that question. She may have exerted her happiness via kissing, but I'll express my happiness with a very beautiful diamond ring.

Kissing each other some more, Twilight seemed to be out of breath, as was I after some time. Kissing her cute, little forehead once more, I told Twilight we should get some rest and save our affection for each other until the morning.

"I love you, King Lunar," Twilight whispered, kissing my muzzle again.

"I love you more, Queen Twilight." I repliled, holding her closely with my wing as we both laid down for the night.

* * *

"Well, well, well, look who we have here?"

That voice.

"Princess Luna!" I smiled brightly.

"Prince Lunar Nights," Princess Luna responded, appearing out of a dark void to give me a hug.

"It's been a long time, Luna!" I smiled, shedding a tear of joy in the process.

"It has been far too long, Lunar," Luna said.

"How have things been going for you since we last spoke?" I asked, trying to catch up with my former mentor.

"Things have been great for us," Luna answered. "How did Princess Twilight react when she saw you for the first time in a thousand years, Lunar?"

"She reacted with much love, Luna," I admitted, "so much love that I actually popped a certain question to her."

"And what might that question be?" Luna smirked.

"I asked her if she would marry me, Princess." I smiled.

"And what was her response?"

"Princess Luna," I spoke, "Princess Twilight and myself are going to get married!"

Luna beamed with delight. "I'm so proud of you, Lunar. Congratulations to both you and Princess Twilight."

"Thank you very much, Princess Luna." I obliged.

"I shall make some arrangements with my sister, Princess Celestia, and see if we can't hold the royal wedding inside the halls of the Canterlot castle." Luna told me.

"Thank you very much, Luna," I smiled, "this means a lot to me."

"It is the least I could do, Lunar." Luna replied. "Congratulations to you both and welcome back."

"Thank you." I beamed with delight.

Princess Luna smiled at my happiness. She said she hasn't felt this happy for somepony else in a very long and extended period of time. She hugged me once more as we began catching up with each other. Of course this meant we couldn't go over every little detail within the last thousand years, but more memorable events within that time frame seemed more doable.

"Princess Celestia and yourself still rule over the kingdom of Canterlot, I presume?" I asked her.

Princess Luna nodded. "Correct, Lunar," she smiled, " some...power struggles intervened for a brief moment or so, but our sister and myself still rule together."

"Power struggles?" I repeated. "Like..."

"Like myself almost on the brink of corruption again." Luna responded.

"How did you come over it and save yourself?" I asked curiously.

"I thought of you." Luna answered.

"You thought of me?"

"I thought to myself, 'What would Lunar do?'" Luna lightly smiled. "Your words of wisdom brought me through difficult times. "

I was left speechless. I knew Princess Luna had some troubles with Princess Celestia prior to my banishment, but I didn't think my words of advice to her would help her steer away from corruption again. I didn't know how to feel about that.

"You may have been gone for a thousand years," continued Luna, "but you were always with me by my side."

"Thank you, Princess Luna," I whispered.

"Nay, Lunar Nights," Luna replied, "it should be I who is thanking you. Your words of wisdom is mainly why I'm still here and not back in the moon."

I nodded, but felt that thanks was not necessary from Princess Luna. When I gave those words of advice to her all those years ago, I was just helping ease the situation between herself and Princess Celestia. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that those words would be useful years after giving them.

"Prince Lunar," Princess Luna spoke, "I must go now. It is time to raise the sun and lower the moon once more. I shall talk to Princess Celestia about the arrangements for you and Princess Twilight Sparkle for your wedding."

"Thank you, Princess Luna," I obliged, "again, it means a lot to us."

"Think nothing of it," smiled Luna as she flew off into the void.

"Good night, Princess Luna!" I said.

"Good morning, Prince Lunar," Luna replied as she disappeared from the void.

I looked at the spot where Princess Luna disappeared for a while longer, then smiled contently. I stood in the void for a little while longer before I started waking up for the new day ahead of both Twilight and myself. Today was the day I was going to try to get Twilight the ring of her dreams. As for Twilight...?

* * *

"Good morning, sleepy head," her soft, soothing voice called.

Looking over, I kissed her muzzle lightly. "Good morning, my little Twily."

"How did you sleep last night?" Twilight asked me quietly.

"Sleeping last night felt magnificent for one of two reasons." I replied.

"And what might those reasons be, my strong Luny?"

"Well," I continued, "sleeping on a bed is a lot more comfortable than sleeping on the moon."

"That is true, I suppose," Twilight giggled.

"And," I added, "sleeping with you gave me a warm serenity and calming feeling."

"Awww, Lunar!"

"It is true, Twily," I said, nuzzling Twilight with my muzzle.

"I love you, Lunar," Twilight smiled, hugging me closely, "and I wish I could spend my entire day with you , but royal duties call for me..."

"Don't worry about it, Twily," I remarked, trying to cheer Twilight up, "while you're busy with your duties, perhaps I could try to befriend your new friends. Befriending them would make you happier, correct?"

Twilight nodded. "It would make me very happy if you befriended them, Lunar."

"Then it's settled then," I confirmed, "I shall befriend your friends and make them our friends."

"Let me get a guard to gather them all up and bring them here." Twilight smiled, calling over a guard.

The guard shortly arrived after Twilight called out to him. "What could I do for you, Your Highness?"

"A couple of things actually," Twilight answered, turning to me, "you've met Prince Lunar Nights, correct?"

"Beg pardon, Your Highness," the guard continued, "but there is no such prince by that name in Equestria."

"Allow me to rephrase that question, Guard Shield," Twilight continued, "you know of the legend "The Colt in the Moon," right?"

"I probably have heard of that legend before, Your Highness," Guard Shield answered, "but that was just an old mares' tale."

"Is that so?" Twilight smirked, getting a nod from Guard Shield as an answer. "Tell me then," she continued, "did you see any markings in the moon last night?"

"I can't recall, Your Highness," he spoke quietly.

"What was that?" Twilight teased.

"I did not." Guard Shield repeated more loudly.

"Well," Twilight smiled, "the 'old mares' tale' you say "The Colt in the Moon" is happens to be right here." She pointed to me.

Guard Shield seemed skeptical. "Beg pardon, Your Highness," he boldly started, "but that could be anypony, literally."

"I'm sure if you ask Princess Luna about Prince Lunar Nights, you'll think differently," Twilight defended.

"Is there something else you need?" Guard Shield questioned, trying to change the subject of the conversation.

"Yes," Twilight answered, "I need you to gather Rarity, Lightning Dash, Reticent, Orange Apple, and Pinkie Pie for me."

"And what shall I say their request is needed for?"

"Their request is needed for royal matters." Twilight requested.

"Consider it done, Princess Twilight," Guard Shield bowed before leaving to gather up the decendents to the ponies I last made friends with.

Twilight looked over to me as I chuckled. "What?" she giggled.

"It's déjà vu all over again." I smirked.

"How so?"

"It's like the day I first met you, Twily," I explained, "remember when you made me befriend and "make connections" to the others?"

"More or less, yes."

"I'm doing the same thing all over again," I laughed, kissing Twilight's cheek.

"But now you know what you're doing." Twilight pointed out.

"I guess so," I responded.

Twilight and I exchanged looks for a little while longer before we left the bedroom and made our way towards a different room inside the castle. It was sure to be a long day, but why don't we have a little bit of fun in it, right?

* * *

"Good morning, everypony." Twilight cheerfully smiled, watching the five other alicorns enter the room. They all seemed to be a bit tired...then again, it was early in the morning.

"Good morning, Twilight," each of the five responded.

"You're all probably wondering why I've called you here so early in the morning," continued Twilight.

"A little bit, Twi," a teal colored alicorn stated.

"Well," pressed Twilight, subtly pointing towards me, "this alicorn here is the reason why."

"What's he done, Twilight?" an orange-yellow alicorn asked, southern accent present in her voice.

"Well, Orange Apple," Twilight smiled, flashing her white-toothed smile, "he's actually somepony who is very close to me."

"How so?" a minty colored alicorn asked.

"Let me ask you all this," Twilight replied, "did any of you notice the lack of markings in the moon last night?"

Slowly, each of the ponies gave a different variation of the answer "no." Cocking her eyebrow and smirking slightly, Twilight improvised the situation, asking each of the alicorns if they knew about the legend that was associated with me.

"The Colt in the Moon," Rarity called.

"Exactly, Rarity." Twilight obliged.

"Everypony knows that legend." the teal alicorn from earlier stated.

"But that's just an old mares' tale." a pink alicorn claimed.

"Not exactly," Twilight remarked, again pointing towards me.

"Don't tell me this alicorn is the pony from that legend, Twi," Orange Apple said.

"He most certainly is, Orange Apple." Twilight confirmed.

Upon confirmation, the five alicorns all stared at me boldly, except for Rarity, that is. The other four, however, seemed very skeptical of me and my presence. The teal alicorn approached me and stared deep into my eyes, which I did the same.

"So," she spoke, "you're the colt from that story, huh?"

I simply nodded in response.

She smirked. "Not much of a talker, are ya?"

"Au contraire," I replied, "just ask Twilight herself...I'm not who you think I am."

"What do you think we think you are then?" Orange Apple called from behind the teal alicorn.

"I believe that you all think that I'm a villain; a menace to society." I answered. "Am I not right?"

"Not really, darling." Rarity responded.

I was shocked. "Really?"

"Darling," continued Rarity, "didn't I tell you the story of what happened after that fateful night all those years ago?"

"Not all of it," I said.

Twilight cut in before Rarity explained herself. "I'll leave you all together. I have to attend to my duties for today before I rejoin you all later on."

"Okay, Twilight." each of the alicorns smiled.

"Alright, Twily." I added.

"Alright," she continued, turning to the other five alicorns before leaving, "be good to him now. I've waited a long time to see him again."

"Oh, we will Twi," the teal alicorn smirked.

Twilight smiled brightly before exiting the room promptly, attending to her duties for today, something I haven't had in a very long time. I turned back to the other ponies and smiled sheepishly. Being alone in a room with five alicorns that you know next to nothing about isn't really a good feeling, but I was determined to befriend Twilight's friends no matter what. The teal alicorn gazed heavily at me again.

"You seem to like Twilight," she said, "don't you?"

"You could say that and then some," I answered.

"Then some?" Rarity repeated.

I nodded. "Precisely."

"Somepony loves Princess Twilight!" the pink alicorn smiled, bouncing up and down in place.

"Very much," I acknowledged.

"Have you asked to marry her yet?" Rarity asked me. She seemed hesitant to ask me that particular question, but she forced it out.

"I have." I smiled.

"Ooh! What did she say? What did she say!?" The pink alicorn was very spastic right now and reminded me very much like how Pinkie Pie was. Putting two and two together, I could tell that this alicorn was Pinkie Pie's bloodline, well...Pinkie Pie.

"She said yes," I beamed, "but there 's one slight problem."

"What's that?" Orange Apple asked.

"I don't have a ring for her yet..." I lowly admitted.

"Fret not, dear," Rarity said, "for I shall help craft you one specifically designed for her."

"You will!?" I spoke, hopping up and down eagerly.

Rarity smiled and nodded. "That's what friends do for each other, darling."

"You have no idea how much this means to me, Rarity!" I thanked, repetitively might I add.

"Consider it a gift from me." She smiled, though it seemed to be a false smile.

"Thank you so very much." I said again.

"It's no problem at all," Rarity repeated, "let me get started on it right now."

Rarity then started to exit the room while the others gathered around me and glued their attention towards me. Looking over to Rarity, whom was closing the door behind her, it appeared that she said something under her breath to herself, but I was too far away to hear it. The other alicorns also forbade me from hearing anything outside the circle, so I opted to approach Rarity later to see if everything was alright.

In the meantime, however, I was answering all sorts of questions that these alicorns had for me, which ranged from my life with Twilight to what I did each day while I was banished. I answered every single question - avoiding very certain details regarding Twilight and myself - as I tried my hardest to befriend each of these ponies; Twilight's friends.

As the day went on, Twilight eventually rejoined us. She smiled upon entering the door, promptly noticing my progress with each of these ponies. They all opened up the circle and allowed me to approach Twilight. I embraced her in my front hooves and kissed her lightly on the tip of her muzzle, then turned back towards all the alicorns I had befriended. Twilight broke the rapidly induced silence first.

"It seems you have earned and established friendships with each of them." She told me, looking ahead towards her friends in the process.

"So it seems, Twily," I replied.

"Good!" she responded. "We've established good progress so far."

* * *

Later that day, the other four alicorns went about their way, going to do their jobs around town. Twilight and myself however, stood inside her castle and were out on the rear balcony, the one looking away from Ponyville, into the valley, and, indirectly, Canterlot. Silence was roaming around the two of us as Twilight and myself both watched the magnificent sun that was setting at the current moment. I had longed waited to see this moment again and wanted to experience it even more with Twilight. Lightning Dash, Rarity, Reticent, Orange Apple, and Pinkie Pie were all great friends, but they came nowhere near Twililght's status when it came to my life. Granted, those ponies weren't nearly as old as Twilight and myself were and that I knew Twilight first, but I __loved__ Twilight. She meant everything to me and I knew that the feeling was mutual.

She lay against my strong body, my wing wrapped completely around her, providing warmth and a sense of protection to her. I rested my head atop her head lightly and could feel the light breeze roling past our manes and tails. It was a warm breeze brushing by us on this warm, calm, and peaceful summer evening. An orange sun rolling down the horizon, casting shadows throughout the valley, as well as the rising moon, dimming some of those shadows. Tonight, alone with Twilight on this balcony, was of the utmost definition of the word perfection.

She sighed with content and I adjusted myself slightly. I looked down at her and, even though we were facing forward, I could feel her looking back up at me. She sighed again with content and adjusted herself slightly this time around. I smiled, enjoying the time we were spending together. The guards were relieved of their duties for tonight, leaving both of us alone without a single worry.

"Luny?" Twilight whispered to me.

"Yes, Twily?" I answered in response.

"The sunset is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Not as beautiful as you, Twilight." I smiled, kissing the top of her head lightly.

"Aww, Lunar," Twilight replied, nuzzling me slightly, "that's so sweet."

"Sweet and true, my dear." I said.

Silence overtook us both again as we resumed watching the remainder of the sunset and began watching the stars reveal themselves in the quiet night sky. Time slowed down heavily when I was with Twilight, which was fine by me. I'd love to spend as much time as I can with Twilight, but do understand that our royal duties may sometimes call etither of us away from each other at any point. Thoughts aside though, I felt a great sense of serenity around Twilight, end of story.

Minutes turned into hours as we continued staring at stars up high in the sky. However, we weren't alone for that much longer. Behind us, we heard a set of hooves in the hallway. Without turning away, Twilight called to whoever was behind us and reminded them that they were relieved of their duties for the evening. The pony continued coming down the hallway, hooves getting louder with each passing step. Twilight and myself both turned around, noticing that it was Rarity who was coming down the hallway towards us both. Twilight was caught by surprise, as was I, at the presense of Rarity at this hour in the night.

"Rarity?" Twilight questioned.

"The one and only, Twilight." replied Rarity.

"What are you doing here?" Twilight asked.

"I'm actually here to see the Prince," Rarity answered, "if that's alright with you, Twilight."

"Oh," smiled Twilight, "of course."

I smiled back at Twilight, then carefully lifted myself from the ground, unwrapping myself gently from Twilight, who had stayed on the ground and went back to watching the stars. She told me to not take too long, to which I responded by telling her that I won't be gone too long. Following Rarity somewhat into the castle hallway, conversation struck up fairly quickly.

"What did you need to see me for?" I politely asked.

"A couple of things, Lunar," Rarity answered, pulling out the ring she promised to craft for me.

"Sweet Celestia..." I gasped, pausing for a while, overlooking the ring entirely, greatly fascinated by the great detail in the ring itself. It was a lavender colored gemsetone, crafted in such a way that looked like Twilight herself, and, once Rarity shone a light on it, changed in color from lavender to indigo, my color.

"It took a while," Rarity smiled sheepishly, "but it was worth working on."

"This ring is phenomenal, Rarity..." I said, still in awe about the ring. "I cannot thank you enough for doing this for me."

"It's a gift," Rarity repeated from earlier, "it was the least I could do for you."

She then turned away from me and started walking towards the exit to the castle. I turned around moments later and noticed that something was bothering Rarity, so I decided to try to help her out.

"Rarity?" I called.

She didn't turn around, but did stop moving. "It's okay, Prince." She told me. "You need not repay me."

"That's not it..." I continued.

"It's not?" Rarity asked, turning her head slightly.

"No." I responded.

"Then what is it?"

"Something is bothering you," I said, approaching Rarity slowly, "what is it?"

"It...It's nothing." Rarity hesitated.

"It most certainly is not "nothing," Rarity," I responded, "tell me, what's on your mind?"

Rarity turned to me, not making eye contact with me whatsoever. She remained silent before I lifted her head gently with my left front hoof.

"Go on," I whispered to her, "you can tell me..."

Instead of telling me what was wrong, Rarity snatched a kiss from my lips, catching me completely off guard. I shuffled back in an unusual pattern, staring blankly at Rarity. I was in utter shock and Rarity could see this. She seemed even more unsure of herself after the kiss and looked down out of shame.

"I..."

"Rarity..."

She looked into my eyes slowly and I stared back into hers. Silence was piercing through the halls before Rarity told me she was sorry. I was still in a state of shock and simply watched Rarity walk and exit the castle in such a disappointed state.

I couldn't believe my eyes and immediately felt bad for Rarity after the engagement for I knew now what was bothering her: she loved me, just like I loved Twilight.

* * *

I was still left in shock and stood frozen in the middle of the hallway. I could not move a muscle out of my shock and astonishment, eventually having Twilight come to check up on me. She noticed the shocked loo I had in my eyes and immediately brought that topic up for discussion.

"What happened to Rarity?" She asked me.

I failed to answer Twilight in response, still in shock.

"Lunar?"

I finally managed to utter something, but it wasn't necessarily proper English. "Muh buh..."

"What?"

"Uh, wh-wait...what?" I didn't know what I said or what to say. My mind was literally going a mile a second.

"What happened between you and Rarity?" Twilight repeated.

"Uh," I stumbled over word choice, not knowing how to explain the situation to Twilight, "I...she..."

"You can tell me, Lunar," Twilight softly assured, "I won't get mad."

"At me or at her?" I responded.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

I sighed slightly, looking squarely into Twilight's inviting lilac eyes. I smiled briefly, knowing that Twilight wouldn't be angry with either Rarity or myself, but I still had the sense of doubt inside my thoughts. Bucking up, I told Twilight the truth.

"Rarity came to give me this," I started, pausing to show Twilight the ring. She idolized the ring greatly as I put it on her horn gently. She kissed me passionately, telling me that she adored the ring, as I continued onward with my explanation. "I saw that something was bothering her, so I asked her what was wrong."

"Did she say?" Twilight replied, still in awe of the ring.

"Not exactly," I answered, rubbing the back of my neck in the process.

"What happened then?"

"She uhh...she...uhh..." My tongue started twisting on itself with my word choice, making it a lot harder to explain myself.

"She...?"

"Well," I improvised, "let's just say that some...actions took place...and she went home feeling different..."

"Is that a good thing, Lunar?" Twilight asked, unsure of how she should take my response.

"Maybe," I responded, "I honestly don't know."

"Hmm..." Twilight thought. "Perhaps I should talk to her tomorrow."

 _ _Hopefully Rarity will feel better then...__ I told myself. "Sounds good, Twily."

She smiled brightly, yawning a bit in the process. "We should get some rest, Lunar. It's been a long day for us both."

"After you, my dear," I smirked, nuzzling her slightly.

"Come along, my little Lunar." Twilight giggled, leading the way back to her room.

"Coming, oh powerful ruler." I laughed in response.

* * *

"Prince Lunar, art thou ready to resume thine roles of royalty?"

"I am, Princess Luna."

"Then you nay have a moment to spare."

"I'll get right to it, Princess."

And with that, I resumed my royal duties that were stripped from me over a thousand years ago.

* * *

"Oh, Prince, you're so handsome!"

"Oh, Rarity...you're very divine, elegant, and beautiful."

 _ _Wait...WHAT!?__

I looked around, going undercover inside Rarity's dream to uncover what exactly was making her sad in the real world. The dream was taking place on a beautifully crafted field - reminiscent of one on a postcard - and had Rarity - whom portrayed herself simply as a Pegasus - and also a dreamt up version of myself laying side-by-side, under a large, shady tree, overlooking a horizon in the far off distance while the sun was setting. Dream Lunar looked exactly how I did, but appeared to be bulkier than me overall. I hung overhead on a cloud, eavesdropping on the conversation between Dream Lunar and Rarity.

"Tell me that we'll be together forever, my strong Prince." Rarity smiled.

"We will be together forever, my beautiful and elegant Pegasus." Dream Lunar replied.

 _ _She wants to be with me...__

"Oh, Rarity," Dream Lunar said with a bassy tone of voice.

"Yes, Prince Lunar?" Rarity responded, fluttering her eyes towards him.

Looking down on them both, I saw Dream Lunar get down on his right two knees and hover a ring in front of Rarity with his magic - which, oddly, was a black color, the opposite to my white aura.

"Will you marry me and be my Princess, Rarity?" Dream Lunar proposed.

"Oh, Lunar!" Rarity cried happily. "Of course I'll marry you!"

 _ _She wanted to marry me...that's why she's feeling down. Her dream can no longer come true...unless I can somehow clone myself or find an exact lookalike.__

I completed my dream eavesdrop and left Rarity's dream and headed back to Twilight to check up on her. Her dreams, from what I can remember, always made me happier when I was feeling down myself. I missed checking on her in her dreams, so I opted to resume my fun while she slept.

I moseyed around for a while, searching for Twilight's dream, meandering past Lightning Dash's dream of the Wonderbolts, Pinkie Pie's dream of a large parade, Reticent's dream of a large animal sanctuary, Orange Apple's dream of growing the world's largest apple, Princess Celestia's dream of her fillyhood, and Princess Luna's dream (which was more of a nightmare that was under control, really) of Nightmare Moon.

Finally finding Twilight's dream, I peeked in and saw that she was dreaming about us, the real us, true us. I smiled brightly, overtaking Dream Lunar's body and mind and partaking in Twilight's dream. I felt happy and loved, whether I was in this dream or out in the real world, while I was with my one and only Twilight Sparkle.

Right now, we were walking through the castle, side-by-side. She was in a very beautiful and elegant dress and had her mane styled in a sexy kind of way. She was the definition of perfection and I loved every little inch about her, from her cute, little face, to her sweet and innocent giggle, her beautiful and loving smile, her flowing mane that was cleanly kept, her sexy body with her soft wings, and even her tail. I loved her with all of my heart and knew she loved me back.

* * *

The next morning, Twilight and myself had awoken soundly. After experiencing her picture perfect dream last night, I knew that she slept spectacularly and felt greatly refreshed. I opened my eyes slowly, completing my royal duties for the night and turned my head towards Twilight slowly. She was already looking at me, smiling soundly and slightly shutting her eyes. I smiled at her, having feelings of confidence and content flow through my body at that moment.

"Good morning, my Prince." Twilight whispered softly.

"Good morning, my Princess." I replied just as softly.

Twilight smiled and nuzzled my muzzle. "How was it?"

"Sleep?" I responded, half-knowing what Twilight really meant. "It was good. How about you?"

"That's not what I meant, silly," Twilight giggled, playfully nudging my nose, "but my sleep was fantastic."

"I know, Twily," I said, answering both of her questions indirectly.

"Oh," Twilight smirked, "so you knew what I was talking about then, huh?"

I nodded in response, receiving a playful hug fromo Twilight. Her body was warm and soft and felt good being pressed up against mine. She made me happy and I knew I made her happy. I felt honored that she chose me and that she even waited so long for me because she could have easily been with somepony else, but you already know this.

The silence between us both and the loving stares we were giving each other lasted for quite some time before Twilight got up from the bed. I watched her get up and slowly go towards near the door.

"Where ya goin'?" I asked curiously.

"Royal duties call for me, Lunar," Twilight smiled. Her tail twitched slightly as she looked back for a moment. "You're welcome to accompany me if you want."

"The more time I spend with you," I replied, getting out of the bed, "the better, my dear."

"Oh, Lunar," Twilight beamed, "you know just what to say to brighten me up."

I kissed her on her forehead lightly, opening the door to the hallway for her in the process. Twilight led the way out of the room as I followed alongside her as we went to go perform her daytime royal duties, moments after I finished my overnight royal duties. Heh, what can you say? I'm a sucker when it comes to royal duties, I guess. So long as I can do them with her, I'm perfectly fine.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Twilight's major royal duties were completed for the day. There were other items that needed to be addressed, but they weren't meant to be done in the immediate future. Twilight seemed exhausted and, while sitting in the throne room, she sat down next to me on my throne and leaned against my body, keeping me warm on the outside and the inside. Words were not exchanged between either of us - they were not necessary, given the circumstances - but our alone time turned out to be minuscule as we were visited by Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance.

"Hello there, Princess Celestia," Twilight smiled, "and a warm hello to my favorite sister-in-law too!"

"Hello, Twilight," Princess Celestia replied.

"How are you both doing?" Princess Cadance added after obliging to Twilight's greeting.

"We're both fine, Your Highness," I answered, giving a quick glance to the ring that was around Twilight's horn. The two princesses took notice to the ring fairly quickly.

"Princess Luna told me about that," Princess Celestia told us.

"And Princess Celestia wrote to me almost immediately after hearing about it." Princess Cadance said.

"We wanted to be the first to tell you both congratulations," smiled Princess Celestia.

"But with Princess Luna and her dreamwalking abilities," Princess Cadance smirked, looking more towards me than Twilight, "we can only assume that we weren't the first ones to say that, correct?"

"That would be right, Princess," I answered, "but Luna only told that to me...I think?" I looked towards Twilight. "Did Luna visit you in your dreams last night?"

"She did," Twilight told me, "and she also told me congratulations, so," she turned back towards Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance, "you're right on that assumption."

"Either way," continued Princess Celestia, "I just wanted to tell you both personally that you can have your wedding in Canterlot, like..."

Princess Celestia stopped suddenly after that and looked at Twilight with a sudden look of regret in her eyes. Princess Cadance noticed this and quickly stepped in to help.

"She'll preside over the two of you and say some words, just like..."

Just like Princess Celestia moments ago, Princess Cadance also stopped in her tracks and stared at Twilight with heavy eyes. I glanced over towards Twilight, who had a few tears rolling down the side of her face, but these weren't tears of joy. They were tears of sadness and loss. She got up and left the throne room suddenly, followed by Princess Cadance, leaving only Princess Celestia and myself. I was confused, so I asked Princess Celestia what the matter was. She turned to see if Twilight was clear of the room, then shut the doors to the room with her magic so that we were fully alone.

"Prince Lunar," Princess Celestia started.

"Please, Princess," I interrupted, "Lunar will do just fine."

"You remember Twilight's older brother," Princess Celestia continued, "right, Lunar?"

"Shining Armor?" I asked, unsure if that was his name.

"Precisely," confirmed Princess Celestia.

"What about him?" I questioned, unsure of what he had to do with the subject.

"Shining Armor was the last pony in Twilight's family to have..."

Princess Celestia didn't finish the sentence, nor did I need her too. I understood what she meant and why Twilight reacted the way she did. I felt awful on the inside, but somehow knew that there was nothing Twilight could have done to stop his death. I looked at the doors, then back at Princess Celestia.

"His death took a toll not only on Twilight," she continued, "but on Princess Cadance as well. Princess Cadance knew that his death would come one day when she married him all those years ago, seeing how she is an alicorn and Shining Armor wasn't, so Princess Twilight was lucky to have chosen you to marry, seeing how you're both alicorns." There was a slight pause between us both before Princess Celestia picked up once more. "Did Princess Twilight ever tell you about the alicorn gene?"

"She did," I replied, "but she only told me that she created the gene in order to save her friends."

Princess Celestia nodded. "That was one reason for crafting the gene, but Princess Twilight originally created it, hoping that it would one day bring back Shining Armor and her mother and father, although that was not possible. She then injected it into her friends and their offspring, hoping that it would take over and become dominant in their bodies and genetic makeup."

"Are they still with us?" I asked, easing towards the more obvious answer. "I know her new friends now, but are the old ones still here?"

"Sadly, they're not." Princess Celestia answered. "These friends are the first ones to have the gene be dominant in all of their makeups."

I glanced back towards the door and felt awful for Twilight. She watched her friends and family die and tried to save them...she tried her best, but her best apparently wasn't enough...

I gazed at the door, heavy heart sinking in. The fact that Twilight tried saving the ponies she once knew, although I knew they were gone, somehow, the feeling now feels like the death of a thousand family members, mine included. Princess Celestia saw through my stern look and knew how I felt.

"She doesn't like talking about them, you know," she told me, "it's...it's why she almost fell once before."

"Rarity told me about that," I replied, still looking at the door, "she almost gave in to her darkness."

"Has she ever told you how she overcame her fall?" Princess Celestia asked me.

I faced Celestia now. "No, she hasn't. Nor have any of her friends. How did she do it?"

Princess Celestia pointed towards me, but I was just a bit confused. She began explaining. "She kept telling herself that you would return one day. That is how she overcame her dark past; because of you. You are the key to her happiness, Lunar. Before you came back, she was simply just a mask over boiling darkness. Now, she is the same happy pony I once knew." She started pacing around the room. "Lunar, it isn't like me to have a one-on-one conversation like this with anypony. Usually, a couple of ponies come to me seeking guidance in a fair trial, so I'm not the one usually giving a lecture such as this. I am always the one getting something as long as this, Lunar," she turned back towards me and stopped pacing around, "Lunar, you need to promise me that you won't hurt her. I fear that if you were to leave a second time, Equestria will not be able to withstand Princess Twilight falling like Princess Luna did...especially not without the Elements of Harmony...not anymore, that is..."

I grew more curious at the end of that spiel. "What do you mean, Princess?"

"Has she not told you what happened to them?" Princess Celestia responded.

"No," I answered, "she has not. What happened?"

"Have you heard that Lord Tirek returned, Lunar?"

"I have, Princess," I replied, "Rarity also told me about that."

"Well," continued Princess Celestia, "instead of going around and taking magic from everypony, he went straight to the Tree of Harmony and snatched the magic from the Elements of Harmony, leaving them in a much useless state."

"How is that even possible?" I questioned.

"That is a question even I don't know the answer to, Lunar," Princes Celestia responded, "bu because of this, it'll take something far more powerful than alicorn magic to restore them to their original functioning states. This is something that is still far out of reach, unfortunately."

"How does Equestria defend itself without the Elements of Harmony then?" I wondered.

"The same way as when Twilight defeated Lord Tirek the first time," answered the princess of the sun, "using the magic of friendship, although that hasn't technically worked yet."

"I remember a pony - I still believe it was Rarity - telling me that Queen Chrysalis also showed up once more," I told Celestia, "is that true?"

"That is true, Lunar," she confirmed, "and, just like before, she was defeated by the power of love."

"So she came before Shining Armor died, I assume?"

"Fortunately," Princess Celestia nodded, "and thankfully, she hasn't attacked since. Prior to you returning, Queen Chrysalis probably would have succeeded in taking over Equestria due to no love strong enough roaming around us."

I stood silent for a while, then remembered Princess Cadance. I was curious as to what she was doing now, so I asked Princess Celestia if she knew anything on Princess Cadance.

"Sadly, I do not," Princess Celestia told me, "even though she is my niece, she has not told me much about the Crystal Empire in a long, long time."

"Do you mind if I talk to her while you tend to Twilight?" I asked. "I want you to tend to Twilight before I do, that way I'm the last one to do so."

"I'll help you out, Lunar." Princess Celestia told me as we went in search for both Princess Cadance and Twilight.

* * *

"Princess Twilight?" Princess Celestia calmly and soothingly spoke.

Twilight was currently wrapped up in Princess Cadance's hooves as she wept in her chest. Princess Celestia dismissed Princess Cadance and overtook comforting Twilight from that moment onward. Not wanting things to feel awkward while I was there, I invited Princess Cadance into the other room while Princess Celestia engaged Twilight in a comforting conversation, telling her some soft, calm, collective, and mood-lifting words.

Once Princess Cadance took a seat in the next room over from Twilight, I closed the door gently behind us and took a seat across from her. Princess Celestia might not have been able to get anything heavy out of Princess Cadance, but maybe I can. I smiled at her, receiving a small smile back from her.

"You know, Lunar," Princess Cadance softly spoke, "you remind me an awful lot of him. The way you make Twilight happy is the same way he kept me happy."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Princess Cadance," I told her.

"Please, Lunar," Cadance smiled, "Cadance will do just fine."

"If you insist." I happily responded.

"Anyway," continued Princess Cadance, "you have her heart, you know that, right?"

"I most certainly do, Cadance." I told her.

"Please," she said, "for the sake of Equestria, you cannot allow that heart to grow dark. It doesn't sound like it makes sense, but you need to protect her happiness at all costs. Trust me...I know what it feels like to lose everything..."

"I express my deepest condolences, Cadance."

"It's fine, Lunar," Cadance replied, "but keep her happy for me. She means too much to me to have her turn the other way."

"I promise, Cadance," I smiled, "her happiness is my ever-living goal in life."

"I'm glad to hear that, Lunar." Cadance remarked.

For a little while longer, things stood quiet as I sat in the small room with Princess Cadance. I knew keeping Twilight as happy as possible was a number one priority to them, but her happiness is what I live for. I love Twilight Sparkle with all of my heart and I would just hate to see something awful happen to her. It's happened to me...I don't want to see her fall to that...

* * *

"So, Cadance," I smiled, breaking some silence, "how are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Lunar," she replied happily, "how about you?"

"You know that I'm perfectly fine, so long as I'm with her," I said, motioning my head towards the other room.

"That's good to hear, Lunar."

"But what about you?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Cadance responded.

"Princess Celestia has told me that you haven't opened up to her since you-know-who." I told her.

"She has?" Cadance said, trying to sound surprised.

"She has." I confirmed.

"...It's fine," Cadance smirked, "really, Lunar. But thank you for your concern about me."

"Cadance?"

"Lunar," Cadance continued, "I'm fine, honestly."

"Cadance."

"Lunar," chuckled Cadance, "the fact that you're worried about me is cute, but I'm perfectly fine. I wouldn't be here otherwise."

"Cadance."

"Lunar..."

I stared back at Princess Cadance, waiting for her next excuse as to why she won't tell me what was bothering her. I waited and waited and waited but received no response after quite some time. Princess Cadance started getting weary about the staring, eventually breaking down emotionally in front of me. She started crying, letting out all of the bottled up emotions that have probably been bothering her for a very long time. I got up from my chair and walked over towards Princess Cadance, eventually sitting down next to her and holding her as she cried. I felt bad for her, but her releasing those emotions was the best thing she could do. Any more bottling up of emotions would definitely hurt her more in the longer run than they are now. She buried her head in my chest as I hugged her and held her, comforting her as best as I could.

"I miss him so much!" Cadance cried, sobbing heavily in the process.

"I'm sure he's looking down on you as we speak, Cadance." I tried comforting. Finding the right words was proving to be a bit tougher than expected.

"I just want him to come back to me!" She sobbed some more, burying her head further into my chest, clenching somewhat against it.

"If I can, I would help you," I told her, "I'm sure he would appreciate that, too."

"It's been so long since I've seen him!" She continued crying.

"I know," I said, patting her on her back gently, "I know."

"I...I..."

"Say no more, Cadance," I whispered, "I'm here for you."

"You have no idea how much this means to me, Lunar..." she told me.

"I think I do, Cadance." I replied.

Silence fell back over the two of us as I continued patting Princess Cadance on her back gently. The only sound that was heard was the little gasps for air Princess Cadance took in order to regain her breath from the crying. As time went on, things eventually eased on their own. Eventually, Princess Cadance removed herself from me and sat normally again, looking at me in the process. She smiled slightly, gazing into my eyes heavily. I began blushing slightly, shy about being stared at by the Princess of Love.

"You know," she whispered to me, "Twilight is very lucky to have met you and have chosen you as her special somepony."

"One could say that, I suppose," I responded.

"You remind me a lot of him, Lunar." Cadance continued, positioning herself closer to my location than before.

"I do?" I asked, unaware of the position change.

"You do," Cadance continued, "do you also act like he did?"

"Come again?" I questioned.

Soon enough, I found myself being pounced by Princess Cadance. I hit the floor as she stood over my body, holding and pinning me down so that I couldn't move. I tried reasoning with Princess Cadance, but I think her memory of Shining Armor was overtaking her sane self.

"Cadance!" I shouted. "I'm Twilight's special somepony! I can't betray her!"

"Shining Armor," she whispered into my ear, "take me away."

"Cadance!" I yelled, flailing around, trying to break free of her oddly powerful grasp.

She began kissing me on my lips as I struggled for freedom. Inside, I was a bit angry at Princess Cadance, but my logical self understood that she was just feeling and experiencing emotions that bursted out of her; emotions that were trapped inside since Shining Armor's death all those years ago. She kissed me continuously, but I struggled breaking free. Honestly, I was a strong pony, but Princess Cadance's grasp she had on me was something very different. Her grasp was one out of love and love fueled her heavily.

"Princess Cadance!" I shouted. "Stop!"

"But I thought you wanted me, Shining Armor." She told me, resuming kissing me.

"Princess Cadance!" A new voice called.

"Cadance!" Another one added.

I couldn't see who it was that called for her, but based upon the voices, I could take a shot in the dark at who it was - Princess Celestia and Twilight. The two new ponies rushed over to us and had successfully unpinned me from Princess Cadance and her grasp. Turns out that the two ponies were indeed Princess Celestia and Twilight. Princess Celestia brushed Princess Cadance to the bench from earlier as Twilight stared at her harshly.

I didn't need to see Twilight's face to know what she was feeling; she was very angry with Princess Cadance. I stepped up in front of Twilight and saw the fury in her eyes. She was very angry and probably felt betrayed by her sister-in-law. I tried diffusing the situation and tried helping calm Twilight down, trying to make her understand that it was Princess Cadance's bottled up emotions bursting out.

"Why'd you do that, Cadance!?" Twilight screamed.

"Calm down, Twilight," I told her, holding her down and blocking her path to Princess Cadance, "she didn't mean it!"

"Lunar," Princess Celestia told me, "take Princess Twilight elsewhere to calm down."

"Of course, Princess Celestia," I replied, turning to Twilight, helping aid her out of the room, "come along now...let's go for a calm walk around the castle."

Twilight, still furious with Princess Cadance, reluctantly obliged and followed me out of the door to the room by my side. We then proceeded to take a slow lap around the castle floor in an attempt to calm Twilight down about what had just happened. She appeared to burst emotionally any second and I tried my best to forbid that from happening. After all, Princess Cadance was just overtaken by her bottled up love for Shining Armor. She didn't mean what she did...right?

* * *

Twilight and myself were still walking around the floor of the castle. She was still mad, but had since calmed down a reasonable amount. I tried explaining to her that her bottled up love overtook her and that she tried releasing it but, for some reason, she did not seem to buy that reasoning at all.

"She knew what she was doing, Lunar." Twilight told me.

"She did not," I repented, "she thought I was Shining Armor. She was even calling me by his name!"

"Please," Twilight said with a lower voice, "don't mention his name to me...for me, Lunar?"

"I promise, Twily," I responded.

She smirked. "Just like he would say."

"I love you, Twilight," I continued, "and you alone. No amount of love from anypony else will ever take me away from you. Ever. I mean it."

Twilight blushed. "How did I ever find somepony as sweet and loveable as you, Lunar?"

"The same way I found somepony like you, Twilight," I answered, "a smart, loveable, adorable, cute, petite, and beautiful pony."

"I love you, Lunar," Twilight whispered to me.

"I love you more, Twilight." I smiled in response.

"Can you promise me something, Lunar?" She asked me.

"I can promise you anything you want, Twily." I replied, kissing her cheek softly.

"Can you promise me that you won't hurt me in any way or leave me for somepony else, Luny?" Twilight requested.

I smiled brightly and rested my head gently against her head. I whispered softly to her and finished up by kissing her nose softly. I told her I would never leave her for somepony else at any point in my life.

"And I will never hurt you, Twilight," I added, "do you know why?"

"Why?" Twilight smiled, brushing her body up against mine.

"Because you have my heart and soul," I told her, "and if I hurt you, I'll hurt myself as well."

"Lunar..." Twilight wept happily.

I kissed Twilight on the tip of her nose and saw her blush a soft and cute lavender-pinkish color. She was smiling slightly, staring deep into my eyes and I into her luscious and attractive lilac colored eyes. I was lost - in a good way - as I stared into her beautiful eyes and, in an odd kind of way, I felt safe, secured, and happy while looking into them. I felt better with Twilight and felt even happier when she wrapped her hooves around my neck and pulled me closer to her, centimeters apart from each other.

Our bodies were touching each other and heat transferred all over us both. I kissed her in a playful but loving manner, silently telling her that she will have to work for my kisses. She took the hint, pressing further up against my body and brought my head further down towards hers and kissed me on my lips with the utmost of passion. We slowly backed up against a wall and continued exchanging kisses for the next few minutes. She was fierce, driving a passion through me that I have never seen before from her. She kissed me on my lips and, eventually, on my neck. This was a side of Twilight I had never seen before and, to be perfectly honest, I actually found this Twilight sexy and amazing. Had it not been the fact that both Twilight and myself heard hooves coming in contact with the ground nearby, I'm pretty sure Twilight would have done...other things to me right then and there. She pulled herself from me very quickly and turned around, facing the sounds coming from down the adjacent hallway.

"Princess Twilight?" A female voice, mostly Princess Cadance's voice, called.

"Over here, Cadance." Twilight bluntly responded.

The hooves came closer to our position as Twilight and myself positioned ourselves by a nearby window, looking out of it and into the sun that was currently setting. This probably meant that Princess Cadance was by herself while Princess Celestia went to go lower the sun. I managed to snag a look over my shoulder and saw Princess Cadance enter into our hallway. She spotted us and proceeded over to us, stopping just behind us, more towards Twilight than myself. She looked down and appeared very disappointed in herself, which was an understatement.

"Uh, Twilight?" Princess Cadance lowly spoke.

"Yes?" Twilight replied, not turning around.

"I, uhh, I just wanted to apologize for...my actions...earlier..." Princess Cadance seemed to be trailing off slightly. She sounded like she was unsure about her own word choice.

"Do you now?" Twilight said, turning around in the process.

"I...I don't know what came over me," Cadance continued, "and...I...I'm very sorry for what happened...both of you..."

"Cadance," Twilight responded, "you tried to have you-"

"It's fine, Cadance," I interrupted, drawing a look from Twilight.

"Is it, Lunar?" Twilight asked me.

I nodded, then looked more towards Princess Cadance than Twilight. "You were being controlled by bottled up emotions breaking out after being stored for...however long they were stored for. You said the way I spoke - and you did to, Twilight - had reminded you of, well, you-know-who." I turned to Twilight and did not speak his name out of respect for Twilight's request. "It came out and...well...the rest is stuff we all know...and I completely understand, Cadance. You have earned my apology."

"Thank you, Lunar..." Cadance softly acknowledged.

"Twilight," I continued, "she's your sister-in-law. She knows how much I love you and she knows nothing can break our love. You're both family and families always forgive each other...can you do the same?"

Twilight looked down, then back at Princess Cadance. She approached her and hugged her gently, forgiving Princess Cadance in the process.

"Friends, Twilight?" Cadance asked.

"Friends?" Twilight repeated. "No."

Cadance looked down while Twilight continued, lifting Cadance's head in the process.

"We're sisters-in-laws, Cadance." She finished.

"There you go, girls," I smiled, "that's the way a family resolves and comes together."

"I'm sorry , Twilight," Cadance repeated, "I promise that as long as we're together, I won't hurt you in any way."

"Family or not," Twilight continued, "we need to stick together...especially since we're the only ones left...aside from Celestia and Luna, of course."

A group hug including me then took place in the center of the area. It was a collective and soothing hug as all the problems created earlier will eventually disappear over time.

* * *

That night, Twilight and myself fell asleep soundly. We were both tired from today's events and went to bed together, although I was going to pay her a visit in her dreams. I waited until she was fully asleep before entering into her dreams. I love my dreamwalking ability. It's one of the more better duties I missed during my tenure on the moon.

Once I entered her dream - I had done my best to make sure that I wouldn't be noticed - I looked over to Twilight and saw she was staring at dream-version Lunar. We were both up at an altar and were in front of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, although I wasn't sure if it was a dreamt version of Luna or not.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Princess Celestia smiled, "we are gathered here today to celebrate the coming together of these two ponies. Their love is undeniable and has proven to triumph over all evil. Princess Twilight Sparkle, my former star pupil from many years ago, and Prince Lunar Nights, my sister's former star pupil from many moons ago, joining together to prove that day and night can coexist within each other and proving that, without a doubt, love triumphs over everything."

 _ _This is our wedding that she's dreaming about.__ I thought to myself.

"Prince Lunar Nights," continued Princess Celestia, "do you take Princess Twilight Sparkle as your lawfully wedded wife, through sickness and in health, through good times and bad, till death do you part, so help you?"

"I do," Dream Lunar smiled.

 _ _I do.__ I added in thought.

"And do you, Princess Twilight Sparkle, take Prince Lunar Nights to be your lawfully wedded husband, through sickness and in health, through good times and bad, till death do you part, so help you?"

"I do." Twilight replied, inching closer to Dream Lunar.

Princess Celestia beamed delightfully. "If there is anypony who feels that these two ponies should not be married, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

Almost immediately upon completing the sentence, there was a pony who spoke up. Rather, they yelled in disarray. "I do!"

Every single pony in the room then shot a look back to the pony who had shouted in disbelief. They cleared a path for them and, to my shock and surprise, the pony who disapproved of the wedding was Princess Cadance.

"He doesn't love Twilight like he loves me!" Princess Cadance shouted, pointing towards Dream Lunar.

"Why are you ruining our special day!?" Twilight cried. "He loves me more than-" She turned towards where Dream Lunar was standing and was appalled to know that he wasn't there anymore. "Lunar!?"

 _ _Where did he go...?__ I thought to myself.

"I love you, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." Dream Lunar spoke, kissing Princess Cadance on her lips.

"Luny..." Twilight whispered, softly crying.

I flew down from where I was to in front of Twilight, attempting to convince her that this was all just a bad dream, but Twilight saw right through me - literally right through me.

"Twilight!" I cried out, but receiving no answer from her as she ran right through me and out of the hall everypony was in.

"I love you, Prince Lunar," Princess Cadance responded to Dream Lunar, kissing him back in the process.

Princess Luna - still unsure if it were actual Luna or Dream Luna - approached Dream Lunar and expressed much disappointment in his actions. She was angry with him, as was I.

"This is not how I taught my star pupil to act, Lunar Nights." She spoke. She never called me by my full name unless something was horribly wrong.

"So what?" Dream Lunar stated obnoxiously. "I love Princess Cadance more than Princess Twilight."

That almost made me throw up. I wanted so desperately to punch Dream Lunar in his face, but this was Twilight's dream; she literally ran through me moments ago. Just then, Princess Luna brightened up the whole room with her horn and, once the light dimmed enough to the point so that I could see again, nothing was around us. All that was here was a disgruntled Twilight and myself.

"Twilight?" I called.

I got no answer but a crying Twilight, curled up on her bed and absolutely appalled with the events and actions that Dream Lunar enacted on her a few moments ago. I tried reaching out to her, but this dark void I was in was holding me back from ever reaching my darling Twilight. Just as I was about to give up, I heard a voice calling out from beyond the beyond.

"Who's there?" I asked.

"Who's there?" Twilight questioned seemingly at the same time.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle..." the voice continued.

"Show yourself..." Twilight cried, trying to sound serious, but crying slightly through her demand.

"It's okay, Princess Twilight Sparkle," the voice assured. Soon after, Princess Luna had flown in from an area I could not see. She approached Twilight and started to comfort her.

I, on the other hoof, found a second wind and tried to get closer to them both. I wanted to help Princess Luna try to comfort Twilight as much as I could, but this void would not let that happen.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle," Princess Luna smiled, "this is just a dream...none of this is happening."

"It isn't?" Twilight replied, receiving an assured answer from Princess Luna. Twilight looked around slowly after that. "It all looks so real..."

"Tell me, Twilight Sparkle," Princess Luna continued, "what would make you thing Prince Lunar Nights would abandon you like that?"

"I...I guess I'm still frightened over what Princess Cadance did to him earlier today...or yesterday..."

"I want to show you something, Twilight..." Princess Luna whispered, using her magic for something.

"What is it?" Twilight asked.

"What is she doing?" I said to nopony in particular from the void. I soon found out what she was doing.

The moment Princess Luna used her magic, I felt the void lift from its grasp on me. Since I was flying at full strength, once the grasp lifted, I sped into Twilight's dream room and crashed into the wall, landing upside down and looking at the bottom of Princess Luna's hooves. She giggled, probably because of my sudden appearance and current state, but helped me up nonetheless. Twilight turned and saw me - the real me - and was speechless, which I wasn't sure if that was either good or bad.

"Princess Twilight," Princess Luna stated, "during the ceremony between you and Prince Lunar's dream counterpart, the real Prince Lunar was hovering high above everypony. When his dream counterpart abandoned you for Princess Cadance, Prince Lunar tried coming down and assuring you that he wasn't doing that. I knew he was there, but when I entered into this room, he was trying to comfort you as well, trying very hard to enter the room as well."

"Is that...is that true, Lunar?" Twilight asked me.

I nodded. "I would never abandon you for anypony else...if I abandon you, I abandon my happiness and future..."

"Oh," Twilight cried happily, wrapping her hooves around me and hugging me tightly, "Lunar, I'm so relieved to hear you say that! I love you with all of my heart and would be devastated if you did that!"

"I promised that I'd never leave you and I meant it, Twilight." I replied, nuzzling Twilight's neck.

"Seems like our work here is done..." Princess Luna smiled, brightening the room heavily.

* * *

The next morning, Twilight and myself woke up fairly easily. We stared intently at each other, love blooming and being exchanged between us both nonverbally. There was no need for verbal exchange about this topic. She blushed, so I kissed her blush, naturally, which made her blush even harder.

"Good morning, my Princess." I whispered. "How are you?"

"Good morning, my Prince." Twilight replied. "I am fine now that the nightmare is over."

"That's a nightmare that will never ever happen," I stated, giving a kiss to Twilight, "ever."

"I'll hold you to that, Luny," Twilight playfully answered, "I'm the type of mare that'll follow you everywhere."

"Everywhere, huh?" I smirked, winking at her. "Let's hope so, hehe."

"Oh, Lunar," Twilight laughed, playfully nudging me, "always with the subtle jokes."

"Oh, Twilight," I buoyantly responded, "always the serious one. It is fun to have some fun once in a while, you know, __mentor__."

"So much emphasis on 'mentor,'" Twilight noticed, "how come?"

"I was under your tutelage when I earned my wings, Twilight," I said, "along with Princess Luna, you were my mentor as well."

"Technically, I never was," Twilight told me, nuzzling me in the process, "I just helped guide you down the right path to obtain and earn your beautiful wings."

"Ah," I smiled, "they're not as beautiful as you and yours are."

"Awwww," Twilight blushed, kissing my cheek, "thank you so much."

"Anytime, my princess."

"Speaking of being under my tutelage," continued Twilight, "have you met my student for friendship and magic yet?"

"No," I answered, "I haven't. Who is she?"

"Hehe," giggled Twilight, "you'll find out soon enough."

"Keeping it a secret, huh?" I joked. "I see how it is."

"Eeyup." Twilight laughed.

"Well then," I smirked, "if that's the case, then I'll keep my kisses to myself until I know who they are."

"Okay." Twilight smiled, buoyantly sticking out her tongue at me.

"Oh you sly, petite princess." I responded, lightly nudging her in the process. "You knew I was going to say that, didn't you?"

"Luny," Twilight said, "you are like my favorite book: enjoyable, yet knowable."

"Knowable isn't a word, my princess." I pointed out.

"Knowable: the sense and capability of being known." Twilight confidently spoke. She nuzzled my muzzle lightly. "I knew what you would do."

"I love you, you smart and beautiful mare." I blushed. I went in for a kiss, but Twilight motioned away, giggling in the process.

"Declaration of holding back your kisses and then you go ahead moments later and break that declaration." She lightly tapped my nose, to which I scrunched it. "You have a lot to learn about this mare still."

"How much time do you have?" I asked.

"How's the rest of our lives sound to you?" Twilight responded.

"That sounds like heaven to me." I pleasantly answered.

"Good." Twilight smiled, hugging me in the process.

* * *

Later that day, I went to visit Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in regards to the royal wedding. I knew they would both like to discuss this as well, seeing how both of their former star pupils were coming together to share their lives in the near future. Twilight would have accompanied me on this journey to Canterlot as well, but her royal duties for the day were calling to her and needed to be done. Unfortunately, those duties pulled Twilight out of Equestria and forced her to be in Saddle Arabia for a royal delegation meeting.

For myself, I left Twilight's castle bright and early - so early that the moon was still risen - and left Twilight's friends in charge of her castle. One can hope that they are as trustworthy as our old friends were, but I trust them enough to leave Twilight's castle with them.

The journey to Canterlot wasn't long - the princesses knew I was coming and arranged for me to be picked up via chariot - and was calm and pleasant and the sun was up by the time we arrived. It was the walk and escort up to the top of the Canterlot castle that really took a while for me. Maybe it was the thousand years I was locked away, but this castle seemed to be more larger than the last time I stepped hoof in here.

Once we (the escorting unicorn guard and myself) reached the throne room doors, I was greeted to the princesses and we all went to a small room located in the back of the throne room to discuss matters in private. Inside the room, there was one light source and a round table for us to sit down at.

"Good morning, Prince Lunar." both princesses simultaneously spoke.

"Good morning, your highnesses." I smiled brightly in response.

"Has Princess Twilight left for Saddle Arabia yet?" Princess Celestia asked.

"She has, Princess Celestia," I responded, "I'm sure the royals over there will be thrilled to meet and greet her."

"They probably will." Princess Luna replied.

Truth be told, the meeting between the delegates and Twilight was set up by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna themselves. The delegates from Saddle Arabia kindly accepted while we planned the wedding in secrecy.

"So," I continued, "Twilight told me a few things about the wedding and," I turned to Princess Luna, "I'm sure you remembered how she pictured it in her dreams last night."

Princess Luna nodded. "Much of that is doable, some of it is not. What can be done, will be done, we can guarantee you that, Prince."

"Thank you, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia." I acknowledged. I then turned to Princess Celestia and gave her my undivided attention.

"We will work hard to bring forth both the sun and the moon during your wedding ceremony between Princess Twilight and yourself." She told me.

"I cannot thank you both enough and..." I paused slightly before picking back up again. "I'd also like for Twilight's friends to help prepare the wedding ceremony."

"I'm sure they will be thrilled." Princess Celestia smiled.

"Well," I continued, "most of them will be thrilled..."

"What do you mean?" Princess Celestia asked me.

I turned to Princess Luna and nodded slowly. "You know who I'm talking about."

"I do, Prince Lunar," Princess Luna responded, "and I'm sure she'll be more than thrilled to help out in the preparations."

"Hopefully so." I answered.

After a few more moments of silence, the three of us continued the preparations for the wedding ceremony and worked relatively quickly for when Twilight Sparkle returns to Equestia and, more specifically, Canterlot to report how the delegation went, the wedding ceremony between her and I will occur and we will forever be known as one heart and soul in the minds of ponies all throughout Equestria.

* * *

That night, Twilight came back from Saddle Arabia and she had the most quizzical look on her face. She questioned why she went there in the first place, but being the sweet mare she is, she didn't portray that questionable instance in front of the delegates. For some reason, Twilight did not want to share what the delegates made her do while visiting or what they discussed.

As for myself and the princesses, we managed to keep the wedding preparations a secret from Twilight. The wedding was tomorrow morning and Twilight and myself had decided to sleep in separate rooms so that we don't see each other until the ceremony. She even made Princess Luna take away my dreamwalking ability for the night so I couldn't even see her in her dreams. Oh well; it's only for one night.

In my own separate room away from Twilight, I had the most troubling time trying to fall asleep. It felt very odd to me not having Twilight laying there next to me. It left me in this sort of empty feeling. I decided to go out for a walk in the streets of Canterlot since I couldn't seem to fall asleep.

Getting up and leaving my room, I was stopped by a couple of guards, both of them unicorns. The taller one, who was still shorter than I was, looked at me and asked me where I was going at this late hour.

"I'm just going out for a walk, sir." I replied happily.

"Would you care to have a guard accompany you, Your Highness?" The guard asked.

"No, no," I answered, "there won't be any need for a guard. Just do me a favor and make sure my princess is kept safe and sound, okay?"

"Of course, Prince." both unicorn guards bowed before going to check on Twilight.

I smiled, then headed out for my calming walk. I remember walking down these streets one other time in my life, and that was the night before my coronation all those years ago. It's weird though because, as I walk down this street again, everything literally looks the same. It's like nothing changed at all except for me.

I looked at a particular building that was generating a lot of sound. Looking at it more closely, I soon found out that it was a nightclub and saw a long line of ponies outside of it. More interesting to me was one specific pony. This pony popped out to me and reminded me of another pony from my days prior to banishment and royalty.

This pony, a white colored unicorn with dual colored mane and tail, looked almost exactly like a famous DJ did back in the days of old, regular Lunar Nights, not Prince Lunar Nights. I smirked slightly, then continued on with my walk down this street of memories. The air was calm and crisp, as nighttime air should be, as I continued walking.

* * *

The next morning, I found myself up earlier than usual. I got back to my room late last night and fell asleep on the bed thereafter. I woke up again before the sun rose and stretched out my legs. Before I knew it, I heard a knock on the door and went over to open it. Upon opening the door, I saw Princess Celestia standing there and offered for her to come in.

"Good morning, Princess Celestia," I smiled, "shouldn't you be preparing to raise the sun?"

"Almost time, Prince Lunar," Princess Celestia replied happily, "in about four more minutes, the sun should be raised."

"Oh," I acknowledged, "then what brings you to my room?"

"It's about Twilight," Princess Celestia told me in a whisper-type voice.

"What about her, Princess?" I asked.

"I don't want to see her hurt anymore than she already is." Celestia requested.

"Why, Princess..." I responded, shock sounding in my voice, "I would never hurt her." I paused for a brief moment, looking out the window towards the large, luminescent moon. "She's been hurt far too much in her life." I turned back to Princess Celestia. "I will never hurt her. She means far too much to me to hurt or see hurt. All of you do...as a family...as a friend..."

"Why do you say 'all of us' if it is Princess Twilight you are marrying later today?" Princess Celestia asked.

"Because I noticed that neither you nor Princess Luna have had colts to love like Twilight has or Princess Cadance...had." I answered.

Princess Celestia smirked and shook her head slowly. "You don't know the half of it, Lunar."

"Neigh, Lunar, you don't."

I heard the new voice - Princess Luna - and saw her come in to my room as well. Both she and Princess Celestia exchanged glances with each other before saying anything else.

"He was perfect, you know," Princess Celestia told Princess Luna.

I took that as a compliment and thanked Princess Celestia. The two alicorns smiled brightly before I felt Princess Luna's hoof touch me.

"She was talking about her special somepony, my shining star," Princess Luna told me.

That took me by surprise. "Her special somepony?"

Princess Celestia nodded. "He was the king of a far away land," she told me, "it was so far, but yet, it felt so close."

"That's because it was the flipped version of our realm, dear sister." Princess Luna smirked.

"His sacrifice will go unforgotten in his land..." Princess Celestia smiled sheepishly, clenching her hoof to her heart.

The two ponies looked at the nearby clock, then smiled.

"Come, sister," Princess Luna smiled, "let's bring in the new day."

"Together." Princess Celestia smiled in response.

Princess Luna turned to me and hugged me. "You made me so happy. I'll see you later at the ceremony, my shining star."

With that said, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia both left my room to bring in the new day together. As for me, I started getting ready for the wedding. We made the wedding start time for nine o'clock in the morning and, once the sun is raised fully, it will be just after six o'clock. I want to make sure everything is perfect because my little Sparkle deserves the best, and that is just what I hope to give her.

* * *

Later that morning, Princess Cadance came into my room and saw me just as I was finishing up putting on my suit. She seemed happy, but I could tell that she was still bothered by her actions earlier in the week.

"Something on your mind, Cadance?" I asked.

"You look absolutely stunning," Princess Cadance told me, smiling lightly.

"Thank you, Princess." I smiled back, fixing a violet onto my suit, Twilight's favorite flower.

Princess Cadance came over and helped it onto my suit using her magic. I thanked her and hugged her. She seemed shocked, but I assured her that it was okay and that things between her, Twilight, and myself are all okay.

"Thank you, Lunar." Princess Cadance smiled, shedding a small tear.

I wiped the tear from her eye gently and responded to her.

"No, thank you, Cadance."

* * *

There I was, up at the altar and waiting for my precious Twilight to come join me for the marriage ceremony. The time was now and I was eager to finally be able to call my longtime marefriend and best friend ever my wife.

As the orchestral music started to play, I lit up brighter than a candle as I watched the door, awaiting for it to open up and revealing Twilight. I was very eager for the ceremony to get under way and, admittedly, was a bit impatient, but did not show it. Finally, the door opened up and right there, standing in the center of the hallway, was my loving bride, Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Honestly, she was on a different level of beautiful than she normally was at this very moment. She was wearing this long, elegant, and beautiful flowing wedding gown, which dragged behind her as she slowly got closer to the altar. Her mane was done up and flowing beautifully as well. I felt like the luckiest colt in the world as Twilight got closer to me. She smiled at me, starting her ascent up the stairs to the altar. Finally, she stood next to me. I smiled brightly at her, as did she, as we turned to face Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Princess Celestia began.

"We gather today in celebration of the coming together of not only former star students of ours, but a prince and a princess as well," continued Princess Luna.

"Together, they have overcome many a task," added Princess Celestia, "and have proven that love triumphs over evil."

"Much love exists between these two ponies," smiled Princess Luna, "much care, happiness, love, and compassion."

"It is because of their love that we are here today," Princess Celestia said.

"And it is because of them that we join as one and celebrate their love throughout Equestria." concluded Princess Luna.

Turning, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both started levitating the rings in front of both of us, rings that were meant to be put around our horns. I turned to Twilight and read aloud my vows to her.

"Princess Twilight," I began, being as formal as possible, "with this ring, I promise to always love and cherish you, to protect you, and to keep you as happy as possible. With this ring, I give you my heart, my life, and my morale. It is through you that I strive to be as great a pony as I possibly can be. It is because of you that makes me a better pony. It is because of you that I live each and every day to the best of my existence, and it is because of you that I love my past, present, and future."

Upon completion of my vows, I placed the ring around Twilight's horn, solidifying my place with her. Now, it was her turn to read her vows.

"Prince Lunar," Twilight smiled, being formal as well, "with this ring, I promise to love you and cherish you. I promise to keep you happy and I promise to do my best with our lives. It is through you that I feel a happiness I've felt with nopony else and it is because of you that I try to be the greatest pony possible. I love you with all of my heart and promise to keep it that way for the rest of our lives."

Twilight, who had a small tear falling from her eye, placed the ring around my horn and stepped back. I smiled at her as we both turned back towards Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

"Princess Twilight," Princess Celestia smiled.

"Prince Lunar," Princess Luna added.

"We now pronounce you mare and colt." The two finished together.

"You may now kiss the bride." Princess Celestia cried happily.

I smiled, then wrapped my hooves around Twilight, bringing her closer to me and kissing her with all the passion I had inside my body. The kiss lasted no longer than a few moments and, when we pulled away from each other, we turned towards the enlarged crowd and started walking down the aisle. Cheers and congratulatory signals were given as we made our way through the center aisle and out of the church. I turned to Twilight and kissed her one more time before leaving the church, as did she.

"'For the rest of our lives,' huh?" I repeated.

"You knew what I meant, husband." Twilight chuckled, kissing my cheek again.

I sure did know what she meant as we continued walking out of the church and into the chariot that was supplied by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

Ladies and gentlemen, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Lunar Nights are now husband and wife.


	4. My Little Fazpony

**_**My Little Fazpony**_**

'Twas but an ordinary Friday afternoon here in this quaint little town known as Ponyville. The sun was warm and shining, birds were chirping, and there was a gentle breeze flowing through the air. The Pegasi outdone themselves, as they usually do, and today was absolutely perfect.

I was currently in the home of my beloved marefriend and was as happy as any colt could ever be. Inside the home of my marefriend, she had a newspaper - the Ponyville Express - on the coffee table. I had glanced at it for a while and noticed the headliner for today's edition: Giant Food Chain to Open Ponyville Location.

I swear that my marefriend knows all about me and can read me up and down, back and forth, inside and out, just like a page-turning, mind-grabbing novel. She called to me from the other room as she was preparing hot cups of coffee for us both.

"Have you heard that the new place is hiring?" She called to me.

"I have, Twily," I replied back, although I hadn't exactly heard the last part of her question correctly.

"They're supposedly looking for a few applicants and transferring other ponies to that spot as well," Twilight answered back, reentering the foyer of her home, cups of coffee dazzled with her magenta colored aura, following her close behind.

I had taken my cup and wrapped it around in my indigo colored aura and thanked Twilight for the preparation of the coffee, not only for myself, but for herself too. She didn't need to do this, but she wanted to do it. That's why I love my little Twily; she goes out of her way to make myself happy. But, her presence alone makes my day ten thousand times better than it was before I've seen her.

Twilight smiled, taking a seat next to me on the love-seat, the two-sectioned couch. Placing the coffee down for a brief moment, she had grabbed the Ponyville Express with her magic and brought it closer to us both, opening up to the first page, the page that explained, in elaborate detail, about the new restaurant location and the background and history of the chain company. I had skimmed through it while Twilight read it in full.

"Wow," Twilight lightly gasped, "locations all over Equestria and in other countries as well."

"Must be a pretty large corporation if they have locations in other countries," I sniggered.

"I wonder how they'll do here in Ponyville." Twilight told me.

Something towards the end of the article managed to catch my eye. It was a subsection that explained that the restaurant was taking in new applicants. I pointed to it and jokingly spoke to Twilight.

"Heh," I chuckled, "maybe I should apply for a job there."

Twilight turned her head to me. "If you want to, Lunar," she smiled, "it would be interesting to see you working there."

I took that as a bet. "What?" I smirked. "Don't think I can last in the work force?"

"Uh, no," replied Twilight.

"And whys that?"

"Well," she continued, "for one, you've never actually worked an honest day in your life."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, Princess," I smiled.

"You know I don't like you calling me that, Lunar," Twilight told me, although this was information I knew prior.

"I know," I stated, looking at my wings, then at Twilight's, then back at mine, "it 'places you ahead of me.' I know what you mean."

"How does it place me above you?" Twilight questioned, tickling me with her wing. "You're an alicorn too, you know; an alicorn Prince, mind you."

"I don't know," I bluffed, "it's just something that I feel."

"Well," continued Twilight, hugging me closely as we sat on the love-seat, "it shouldn't and doesn't."

There was a long period of silence filled in the room, only being broken by the occasional sipping of coffee and humming of the aura that was our magic. Life was perfect the way things were at this moment; I don't have any regrets.

Here I am. I, one Lunar Nights, just sitting here next to the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria, one Twilight Sparkle. Time spent with Twilight passed by much, much slower than real time and I had never minded it.

I was mere moments from falling asleep and drifting towards taking an afternoon nap along Twilight's body, when the petite princess broke the silence softly. She turned her head so that she was looking at me and spoke aloud.

"Lunar," she spoke in her soft, elegant, and sexy voice.

Falling prey to the pressure of conversation, I answered my love's call rather softly and in a very deep and heavily bass tone.

"Yes, Twily?"

"Were you serious about applying to that place?" She asked me, a high amount of curiosity being traced in the sound of her voice.

Admittedly, I was thinking about applying there and Twilight's earlier joke made me want to apply even more. Answering her question, I explained to her how I felt.

She smiled, "Okay then,"

"Why'd you ask?" I asked curiously.

"Well," she continued, "they say it's supposed to be a fancy place, all chrome-casted walls and whatnot. I was thinking maybe we could get dinner there one day with...an employee discount, y'know? Try it out first."

I laughed a bit at the idea, but understood where Twilight was coming from. "I'll give the place a tryout," I told her, "then we can decide on dinner, Twily."

"Thank you, Luny," Twilight laughed jokingly. She knew I hated being called "Luny." To me, it sounded too feminine, but then again, getting my name and my mentor's name mixed up was an often occasion.

Lunar and Luna, not a very subtle difference, wouldn't you say? Add one letter to one name and you get a different pony in a different gender, but y'know, I often get mistaken as a mare based off of my name. Let it be known that I am a colt; a Prince. I am in no way, shape, or form a mare or princess nor will be.

Twilight often teased me by calling me "Luny," but the joke is on her that I don't mind 'her' calling me that. Were it anypony else, then I'd have a problem. But, alas, it is her, so there need not be a problem that exists in my simple-natured self.

Not too long after our little sub-conversation, a knock came from the front door. Groaning slightly because she wanted to remain alone with me - I could tell - Twilight gently arose from the love-seat and approached the birch door. The knock came again rather quickly, so I had jumped to the conclusion that our good friend Pinkie Pie had dropped by to pay us a visit.

"Hold on, Pinkie," Twilight assumed, "I'll be right there."

The knock came a third time by the time Twilight had reached it. Surrounding the birch door with her magenta colored aura, Twilight opened up the door carefully and with ease. It was an older door and so it needed to be treated with much TLC. Once the door opened up fully, our assumption of the company being Pinkie Pie had been confirmed as the pink party pony had been bouncing up and down in place at first glance.

Chuckling slightly, Twilight acknowledged Pinkie Pie's visit and invited her inside.

"Not right now, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie spastically replied.

"What's up then?" Twilight questioned. "You're usually never this hyper about something."

"The new restaurant opened their doors!" Pinkie pie smiled before bouncing away elsewhere.

I called from the couch while Twilight watched Pinkie Pie bounce away. "Wanna check it out, babe?"

"Sure," Twilight smiled, turning to face me while simultaneously shutting the large, birch colored door.

Smiling and obliging by Twilight's decision, I had sprung up from the couch much like a slinky springs to the next step. I stretched out both my hooves and my wings and took in a long, satisfied breath to soothe my innards. Twilight stepped up to me and looked at me with her innocent lilac eyes; her hypnotic eyes.

"Ready?" She asked me.

"Ready." I answered back, wrapping a wing gently around Twilight's petite body.

I didn't see it, nor could I, based off of our angles, but I knew Twilight smiled brightly and pressed up against me whenever I did this. She liked it when I wrapped my wing because it provided warmth and hospitality to her, at least that's what she claims.

We made our way over to her door and as we neared the old birch door, I begun opening it with my magic. I was a true gentlecolt because of Twilight and knew she appreciated little acts of kindness like this from me all the time. Smiling, I allowed her to exit through the door first before I followed her out, closing the door gently behind me. Twilight smiled at me brightly, showing her signature white-toothed smile.

"Thank you, Luny," she teased playfully.

"Anytime, Your Highness," I buoyantly responded before we began making our way towards the other side of town.

Ponyville at this time seemed to be bustling with a bunch of tiresome worker ponies heading home after a long day of working heavily. It was like seeing rush hour back in Baltimare at about this time. You know, I sometimes miss my apartment in Baltimare and even miss the city noises. But, as great as those things were in my life, they stand nowhere near where Twilight stands. She is my love and she is my life and she knows it. It is all thanks to her that I have earned everything I've gotten in my life to this point. It's thanks to her that I have these wings and a crown to wear, although I forget to wear it a lot.

Walking through these streets of Ponyville, plenty of ponies had turned their heads over to both Twilight and myself. Surely this would make news and I could see the headlines now: Royal Couple Confirmed? Trust me, I had recently gotten my wings and have actually gone out of my way to hide them for a while. I was born a unicorn so having feathered wings be magically attached to my body felt awkward. It was only recently that I had gotten used to my wings, although I hadn't attempted flying yet. Either way, neither Twilight nor myself let the little attention bother us as we began approaching the new restaurant. It was a decently large building and had lived up to its chrome stature.

"Freddy Fazpony's Pizzeria," Twilight read as we reached the front doors.

"An...interesting name for a giant corporation such as this," I admitted, opening the door for Twilight, letting her in first.

An employee had opened up the secondary doors to the building for us both and introduced and greeted us both.

"Welcome to Freddy Fazpony's Pizzeria!" He chimed.

"Hello there," Twilight acknowledged.

"Table for two, I'm assuming, Your Highness?" The employee continued.

"If that's okay with you," Twilight giggled, aiming the joke towards me.

Smiling, I nodded towards the employee for the table for two request. He escorted us both to a larger table than a majority of them, hopefully not putting our titles above the other ponies that were eating here. As Twilight and I both say: we may have a set of wings and a title, but that title is just a word smacked in front of our names; we are not better than anypony else.

The waiter handed us both a couple of menus and left us alone for a while to overlook what they had to offer. Instead, however, I was looking around and admiring the modern quartz design of the building. Not many places have designs like this because it's a harder design to pull off, but this place seemed to do that and excelled at doing it.

Twilight noticed me observing the building and commented on it. "Pretty, isn't it?"

I nodded. "It's tough to pull off a quartz design."

"I'm pretty sure it is," agreed Twilight, "Rarity would love the design of this place."

"I was just thinking the same thing," I smiled before finally giving some attention to the menu. There were a lot of things to choose from, most of them being pizza related. There was a regular pie, a pepperoni pie, salad, Sicilian styled pies, and other types as well.

Twilight smiled and made up her mind as to what she wanted to order.

"I'll probably get a Sicilian pan pie," she told me, "how about you, Luny?"

I smirked. "I'll probably get the same thing, Your Highness," I lightly laughed.

"What about the job application?" Twilight added.

"I'll probably ask for that as soon as- Ah, here he is now."

"Good evening, Prince Lunar and Princess Twilight," the waiter smiled.

"Please," Twilight butted in, "you need not call us that."

"If you insist, ma'am," the waiter continued, "my name is Sir Cawthon, the owner of this fine establishment and industry, and I'll be-"

"The owner?" I repeated.

"Precisely, Pri-err, sir," Sir Cawthon answered, "I'll be serving you both personally tonight."

"So, if you're the owner of this incredible establishment," Twilight spoke, "that means you also handle hiring processes, correct?"

"Indeed I do, ma'am," Sir Cawthon smiled in response, "why do you ask?"

"Well," I began, "I was thinking about trying out a job here, y'know, to see how this place really is."

"If that is the case, Prince," Sir Cawthon continued, looking over to me, "I would be glad to hire somepony such as yourself."

"Oh, excellent!" Twilight beamed delightfully.

"I hope you don't mind working as our night guard though, Prince," Sir Cawthon continued.

"A night guard?" I curiously answered.

Sir Cawthon nodded. "That is the last position open that we need at this establishment. Other locations have their night guards and different positions open and available, but the nearest location from here is in Manehattan."

"And that's a bit of a hike from Ponyville," I said, looking towards Twilight.

"So are you still up for it, Prince Lunar?"

Twilight smiled. "It's okay with me if you want to try out the night guard position. You are nocturnal after all."

I smiled in response, then paid my attention towards Sir Cawthon. "I will take the job, Sir Cawthon."

He seemed delighted by my choice, shaking my hoof in the process. "Alright! You'll start tonight, if that's okay with you."

"Most certainly," I acknowledged, "I'll just aid this little one home first, then I'll start working, Sir Cawthon."

"Okay," he replied, "and please, do call me Scott."

"As you wish, Scott," I spoke.

Scott smiled, then proceeded to take our orders before subsiding from the table. Once he had left, Twilight and I began conversing about how interesting it was to have the owner of the industry and corporation right here in Ponyville.

"It is interesting, my dear," I said, "but why here?"

"What do you mean?" asked Twilight.

"Of all of his locations," I started to explain, "he chose this one, Ponyville...I wonder why..."

"Perhaps because it's a new location." Twilight suggested.

"I guess that could be true," I remarked, still not satisfied, "but still, he has a Manehattan location. Manehattan! The greatest city in the world!"

"That may be so," smiled Twilight, "but there are certain ponies that don't like the hustle and bustle of the city life."

I laughed lightly. "Twilight Sparkle, otherwise known as the pony you can't beat in a debate."

"Years of practice, Luny," Twilight smiled brightly.

"Clearly, Twily," I smiled in response.

Moments later, Scott came back with our orders and set them down in front of us. He gave us a warm smile, then invited us to enjoy the meals. Thanking him for what he's done for us, we began having our meals as Scott left to attend other things.

The pizza we had was some of the best pizza I've ever had before in my life! It had so much flavor packed into the pizza slices, it actually had me wanting more, to be honest. Hehe.

Towards the end of the meal, Twilight asked how I enjoyed the meal, and I explained to her that it was the best pizza I ever had. Repeating the question to her, Twilight admitted the same thing; she loved the pizza too.

"My compliments to the chef!" I smiled brightly.

Scott came over a little while later to check up on how we felt. He already wore a large grin upon his face, seemingly knowing that we enjoyed our meal.

"How did you enjoy meals, you two?" He politely asked us.

"That was, without a doubt, the best pizza I've ever had, Scott," I answered.

"Glad to hear that!"

"Our compliments go to the chef!" Twilight added pleasantly.

"Why, thank you, Princess Twilight," Scott smiled, "I made it myself."

"You are gifted in the art of pizza making then, Scott," I said.

He pointed to his cutie mark, "That's why this little guy is there."

"I suppose so," I smiled.

"Well," continued Scott, "is there anything else you two need?"

"I'm good," I looked to Twilight, "how about you?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Well then," Scott smiled, "the meal is on the house, courtesy of me, and I'll be seeing you in a bit, Prince."

"Oh, why thank you!" Twilight beamed.

"My pleasure, Princess," he replied, "I hope you have a good night."

"You too," Twilight said, lifting herself for the table.

"I'll see you in a bit, Mister Scott," I acknowledged, lifting myself as well.

"Remember," he told me, "your shift starts at midnight. It isn't a long shift; it will go to six o'clock."

"Got it," I said, aiding Twilight out.

Twilight felt full and comfortable as we left the pizzeria. Her body felt warm along the side of my body. The warm, evening summer air was wonderful and the slight breeze was very pleasant. I had escorted her home, as any colt should do to their marefriend, and kissed her goodbye. I told her I will be back in the morning and can continue enjoying her company then.

"Be careful now, Luny," she told me, kissing my lips gently and lovingly, "I expect you to come back in one piece now."

I laughed, kissing Twilight back with equal amounts of love. "I expect you to be here when I get back, Princess."

Twilight giggled her sweet and innocent giggle; her heart melting giggle. "I'll still be here, Luny,"

"Good!" I smiled, preparing to leave for my new shift. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Goodnight, Lunar," Twilight replied.

"Goodnight, Twilight," I said, "sweet dreams now."

I turned around and had left Twilight's home for my new shift down at the pizzeria. The cool air running against my mane felt good and livened me up just a bit. Twilight said it earlier that I am nocturnal and this is true. A pony of the night, much like myself, comes to enjoy all the features that it has to offer. From the vast number of stars in the sky to the bright full moon, even to the calm serenity and peaceful tranquility, the night is honestly the best part to my day, and it is all thanks to my mentor, Princess Luna…well, actually, my former mentor.

That in itself is a story worth another time, since I had begun approaching the large chrome building for my shift. The entrance was still open, but I had arrived just in time. While approaching the doors, I saw Scott start locking them up. He had a discerned face while I entered into the facility, but he let it go, seeing how I was a Prince.

Entering into the chrome building, Scott addressed me for being a bit late, but turned the other way in regards to the events. I had apologized, assuring him that I have never been late for anything in my life before and that time had seen to slip by a bit quicker than usual.

"It's okay, Prince Lunar," Scott told me, leading me down a darkened hallway, "things happen in life and nopony is perfect."

I was wondering where exactly we were headed. The place looked a lot bigger on the inside than it did on the outside and I had not seen this section of the pizzeria before. I asked Scott politely where we were headed, but didn't need an answer as we entered into a bright room at the end of the corridor.

Scott turned around and smiled at me. He handed me a small tablet thing and a large mask and told me to take a seat, which I did in the up against the middle of the back wall. I exchanged looks between the tablet thing and the mask, then asked Scott what these two things were for.

"Well," started Scott, "the item in your right hoof is the security cameras for the joint and the object in your left hoof is an empty Freddy Fazpony mask."

"What for?" I repeated.

"The cameras are meant to monitor the animatronics that are kept here."

"Animatronics?" I questioned.

Scott nodded. "Yup. They are the pride of Fazpony Entertainment and are super kid friendly. They are allowed to walk around during the day and mean no harm."

"So why do they need to be monitored?" I spoke, examining the different rooms in the facility.

"These animatronics haven't been given a proper night mode yet," Scott explained, "so they tend to wander around during the night."

"Wander around?" I repeated, putting the cameras down and staring at Scott.

"Yeah," Scott confirmed, "but they mean no harm."

"So what is this for?" I asked, lifting the mask with my magic.

"That is for you to put on, should anything come in to your office."

"They come in here?" I cautiously asked.

"They aren't supposed to," Scott eased, "but in case they do, you can just put the mask on like so," he put the mask on in front of me, "and eventually, whatever wanders in will eventually wander its way back out."

"So...how many animatronics are there?"

"Let's see..." There was a long pause before Scott actually answered said question from moments ago. "There are ten of them, but one doesn't move and another won't move as long as a music box is kept wound throughout the night."

"Music box?"

Scott took the cameras and hit one of them in a room that seemed far from here. He pointed to a little box on the camera that said "tap to wind music box." Giving the cameras back to me, he explained that a music box was wired remotely to be wound up and keep one animatronic at bay.

"...as for the others," he continued, "they aren't affected by the music box."

"Okay," I said, feeling a bit uneasy now.

"Don't worry about a thing," Scott assured me, "they are tied into local databases and can detect a predator a mile away. They won't hurt you if you don't hurt them."

"By 'them,'" I hinted, "what exactly are we talking about?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," I continued, "what type of animatronics are they all? Are they different? Are they the same? Which ones are more aggressive? Which ones are more passive?"

"A lot of questions for a royal pony," joked Scott, looking towards the time, "it's almost time for me to leave, but I'll answer that one last question you had. The animatronics include: Freddy Fazpony, the furry and friendly Earth pony and the face of this fine establishment, Chica the Pegasus, a very attractive Pegasus, Bonnie the Bunny, an...interesting character, Foxy the Griffon, the fastest of them all, then there are the newly design animatronics."

"Those you just mentioned," I spoke, "they are…?"

"They're the older models and they shouldn't move around throughout the night." Scott answered. "They're in the "Parts and Services" room right now as spare parts for the newer animatronics."

"Why's that?"

"Well, they were from the old owner of the corporation and they've been in service for many years." Scott chuckled. "I've decided to retire them and use them as backups."

"Seems like a legitimate reason." I acknowledged.

"Precisely."

"So if they're out of commission," I continued, "who are the animatronics that I'll need to watch over?"

"Those that have the same name," Scott smiled, "aside from the last one."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," he continued, "you'll be looking over what I call Toy Freddy Fazpony, Toy Chica the Pegasus, Toy Bonnie the Bunny, Mangle, or, as she's officially known, Toy Foxy the Griffon, and Balloon Filly. They are all the animatronics that are currently in commission and would be the ones moving around throughout the night."

"I see."

"Any more questions?" Scott asked.

"Uh, not at the current moment, no." I replied.

"Well," continued Scott, starting to leave through the back exit, "your shift starts now and I wish you the bet of luck," he chuckled, then continued again, "but you'll do fine, I just know it."

"Thank you," I smiled.

"Okay, your replacement will be here at six to take over for you," Scott told me, "goodnight and I'll speak to you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Scott," I said as Scott left through the back door.

The door locked behind me as he left for the evening. I looked towards my left and right and noticed two small air vents. Above each vent, there was a button and, above each of those buttons, there was small text that read "LIGHT" in big, bold letters.

"I wonder what they lead to," I told myself, then glanced at the cameras, noticing that, in the bottom right of it, there was a map of the entire facility and a small room that let me know where I was in the entire place.

I looked through each room, coming across various places that I hadn't seen with Twilight earlier. It seemed that the majority of this place was kid friendly, as per Scott's words earlier in the night. There was various party rooms, the Parts and Services room Scott showed me, a few restrooms, something call the "Show Stage," a place call "Kid's Cove," and a "Game Room."

Scott had told me that Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie were all upon the "Show Stage," so that was where I checked first. There they were; three unusually creepy creatures just staring into a blank abyss. I stared at them, yet they stared elsewhere in the facility towards a spot I could not see. Pretty soon, I began seeing a yellow exclamation point surrounded by a white and yellow triangle positioned right next to Camera 11, the "Prize Counter."

"What's this?" I asked myself before checking to see what was wrong. Hitting the area where the camera was located, I noticed that the music box wasn't making any sound; the dial had run out of power.

Remembering what Scott told me, I wound the music box back up and began hearing the calm and creepy sound from the music box once more. Opting to check the stage again, I had noticed that one of them was missing!

"Wa-where did you go?" I asked nopony in particular.

I had begun spastically checking the other rooms and noticed that they were all empty, except the last room I checked: Party Room #3.

"Ah! Whoa!" I shouted.

There, staring into the camera was a creepy blue bunny - Bonnie. He had what appeared to be a guitar in his hooves and was just standing there, watching me, menacing look in his robotic eyes.

Just then, the notification for the music box came back on and dragged me away from Bonnie. I wound the music box back up, then immediately went back to Party Room #3 to check on Bonnie, only to find that he wasn't there.

"Where'd you go!?" I asked nopony, putting down the cameras and checking down the hall with a light spell, seeing Bonnie run across the hall. "Ah-ha! What the flying-!?"

I went back to the cameras and noticed that Bonnie ran across the hall into the other room, Party Room #4. Checking directly into that room, I was greeted to an unpleasant sight when Bonnie's entire face covered the camera. It made me jump out of my seat and almost chuck the cameras in general when something else grabbed my sight.

Up in the top right corner of the cameras, there was a counter that read "Night 1" and, right below that, a time counter that currently read "2 AM."

"Two hours down," I told myself, "four more long ones to go."

The notification for the music box came back on again and dragged me away, yet again, to rewind the music box back up, which I did. But when I went back to check up on the room Bonnie was in, it had read "Signal Interrupted" up at the top of the camera.

"Interrupted?" I asked myself. "What happ-?"

Before I could finish, signal was restored back inside the room, showing that Bonnie was no longer in the room.

"Where'd you go now?" I sighed., flipping through the different rooms until I had reached one that said "Party Room #2."

Inside the second party room, I was greeted to, once again, Bonnie the Bunny. This time, he was crawling on the floor in the room and was entering a vent!

"What are you doing!?" I shouted, only to be answered by a loud thumping sound coming from my right vent.

I had started to get paranoid. Between Bonnie and myself, there was only one camera left, which I switched to and was unable to see anything; that is, until I saw a robotic arm crawling towards me.

"Dear Celestia!" I shouted, exiting the cameras to put the mask Scott gave me over my face and muzzle.

I couldn't see anything and breathing was a hard thing to do, but I stood inside this mask for a while. A few minutes later, the lights had begun flickering and, right in front of me, Bonnie had moved through the room!

" _AH-HA, WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?_ "

The room went dark then, slowly, the lights began coming back on, but not before I began hearing another thumping sound coming from my left vent.

Scared, but determined to make it through the night, I opened up my cameras, wound up the music box slightly, then checked out the left vent, noticing another robotic arm nearing me. I placed the cameras down and looked over towards the vent, noticing, once again, the "LIGHT" button above the vent opening.

Using my magic, I grabbed something that could push the button and activate the light in the vent, only to notice that, staring at me directly from the vent, Chica the Pegasus was almost inside the room!

I quickly put the mask back over my face and waited for something to happen, but the only thing that I heard was some more thumping sounds, these sounding like they were sounds that were getting farther from my position.

I took a chance and took off my mask and pushed the button again, revealing that Chica had gone away. I briefly collected some much needed breaths of relief, then went back to the cameras, which now read "4 AM."

"God," I groaned, "this night is lasting so long! I just wanna go home!"

The notification for the music box started up again, so I checked it and wound it all the way back up, noticing that the time now was "5 AM."

"It took me an hour to fully wind that thing up?" I questioned. "And it desecrates within minutes? What kind of-?"

Thumping sounds came from the right vent again, meaning that Bonnie was making a second trip around to see me again.

The thumps were getting louder and closer, so I exited the cameras and put the mask back on, turning and facing the vent.

"Come on," I spoke through the mask, "show yourself."

Bonnie must have heard my request because not even seconds had passed before the lights had started flickering and Bonnie himself strolled through the room. This time around, I was prepared and was not scared.

When the lights came back on, I took the mask off and noticed that the time in the upper right of the cameras I had gone back in to now read "6 AM."

"Thank god..." I sighed, hearing the door shake behind me.

The door was opened and there stood my replacement. She was a small Pegasus mare and seemed to know what she was doing. Upon entering the room, she asked me how things were.

"Do they normally attack the guards?" I asked, handing over my equipment to the mare.

She laughed. "Who came to visit you?"

"Bonnie and Chica." I answered. "But it seemed to be more than a simple 'visit.'"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty," the Pegasus smiled, "you'll get used to them."

 _ _That's assuming that I stay there.__ I thought as I left my shift and started heading back to Twilight's home.

"That was the scariest thing I've done in a while," I told myself as I walked down the street and trough the crisp, cool morning air.

I decided to go for a little walk before heading back to Twilight's home and ended up stopping at the local coffee shop and picking up a copy of today's edition of the Ponyville Express.

The headlining story of the Express intrigued me a lot. The story: Local Restaurant Chain Being Investigated.

"Interesting," I told myself as I gave the clerk two bits for the Express.

I tucked the paper away and proceeded back towards Twilight's home. Hopefully she was awake and I could tell her all about my frightening experiences the last six hours of my life.

One day down…one long and exhilarating day…

The morning air felt good against my mane and I wanted to enjoy it a little bit more, but i ultimately decided to head over to Twilight's home and see how she was. As a royal pony, she was expected to be awake by now for any royal duties that may pop their (dreadful) heads into circulation.

Approaching the front door to her home, I gently knocked on it and pretended to be somepony else, expecting her to open the door.

"Who is it?" called a male voice. The voice belonged to Spike, so I wasn't scared; Twilight would never cheat on me.

"Delivery for Princess Twilight!" I answered back playfully.

Spike opened up the door and spotted me. Smiling and laughing slightly, he played along with the joke.

"Seems like the package is all in order," he joked, "Twilight is in her room. I assume you know where that is."

"Most definitely," I laughed, "thank you, Spike."

"Anytime, Lunar," he smiled as I entered Twilight's home.

I took the right turn immediately after walking up the stairs in the main foyer and made my way towards Twilight's room. Trust me, it might be a big house - formally, a castle - but once you know where everything is, it's pretty easy to navigate through.

"I don't think she'll believe me when I tell her what happened to me last night," I said out loud to myself.

I have been known to have that problem recently - speaking my thoughts out loud. They aren't negative thoughts, but when somepony overhears me talking to myself…let's just say they view me slightly differently.

The door to Twilight's room was open and as I approached the open crystallized door, I saw Twilight leaving her room and walking down the hall in the opposite direction. I decided to call out to her as if I were a regular citizen.

"Your Highness!" I called, grabbing her attention.

"Hmm?" I heard her say as she turned around. "What do we have here?" She smiled.

"Your Highness!" I called again, bowing to her in the process as I got closer.

"What is it, fine subject?" Twilight playfully replied, but she tried to be more serious than playful, trying to keep her royal status self in tact.

"Something's happened to the Prince." I spoke, looking up at her beautiful, lilac colored eyes.

"What happened?" Twilight smirked, though she wanted to keep a straight face more than anything.

"Well," I continued, playfully being nervous, "I hope you forgive me, but he wanted me to give you this."

"Give me wh-?"

Twilight was unable to finish her question as I embraced her lips with mine slowly, lovingly, passionately, and perfectly. She did the same and we embraced in affectionate exchanging for what seemed like forever, but turned out to be a few minutes. When we pulled away from each other, our eyes were locked together and half-shut, but nothing was said for a long time. Finally, Twilight broke the silence.

"Welcome home, my Prince," she whispered to me, smiling in the process.

"How'd you sleep, my Princess?" I whispered in response, smiling back as well.

"It was empty without you," she admitted, "and I dreamt about you the entire time."

"How sweet," I replied, "and I'm sure Princess Luna enjoyed your dream for a change. Normally," I approached her and kissed her horn, "that's my job."

"I know, Luny," she giggled, "and I hope she did."

"I know she did."

"How was your shift at the pizzeria last night?" She asked me, turning and walking down the hall with me by her side.

"Uhh," I started, coughing slightly, "it was…stressful."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked me as we entered into her throne room, as per her morning routine. "Why was it stressful?"

"Let's just say that there were 'things' trying to pay me a visit during the night." I answered.

"Things?" repeated Twilight.

"Yeah," I said, "animatronics."

"Animatronics?" She questioned.

"Yeah," I confirmed, "we didn't see them when we went yesterday, but apparently they are kid friendly and this set of animatronics is a fresh batch, so they have some kinks in their systems. Scott told me that the face of the franchise is Freddy Fazpony, an Earth pony animatronic."

"How interesting!" Twilight admired. "Animatronic robots! In Ponyville no less! I have to see how they are programmed!"

"You'll have to ask Scott that," I said, "but I think they're trying to kill me…"

"Why do you say that?" Twilight asked me.

"Well for one, Scott said they're kid friendly, but I see nothing friendly about those animatronics if they interrupt the camera signal and crawl in the vents to reach me in my office." I paused to catch my breath. "And another thing, Scott said they were never given a proper night mode and could detect a predator a mile away."

"Sounds like they should be the ones who should be watching you." Twilight joked.

"Yeah," I sarcastically replied, "they'll watch me when they kill me!"

"Oh come on, Lunar," Twilight sighed, "be reasonable!"

"What's to be reasonable?" I asked. "My life or them killing me?"

"It was just one day," she continued, "try the job out for one week and see if you don't like it by then…unless you don't think you can last a week. Is that it?"

"I can so last a week there!" I confidently replied. "Is that a bet, my dear?"

"If you can't last a week there," Twilight smirked, "then you have to go around Ponyville wearing a dress in front of everypony to see."

"And if I do make it a week," I chuckled, "then you have to wear whatever Pinkie Pie and myself think of in front of Ponyville for everypony to see!"

"Okay," Twilight laughed, "you're on!"

"It's a deal!" I said as Twilight and myself bumped each others' hooves, showing that the bet was on and a go.

All I had to do was last a week in that hellhole and I'll be good as gold! What's the worst that can happen?

* * *

That night, I had arrived at the pizzeria on time and set myself up for a heavily six hour guarding shift. The employee that locked up tonight said that Scott had come under some conditions and wasn't here to talk me through things, but said that some recorded messages will let me know what to do via the telephone.

I knew that certain things happen in life and understood why Scott wasn't here tonight; everypony gets sick from time to time.

After setting myself up inside the office, I sat down and awaited for "12 AM" to hit, the moment the animatronics entered into their "night mode." I went into the cameras and wound the music box all the up before I had done anything else. Once I wound the music box all they way up, I went to check on the Stage – the origin to my nightmares from last night.

The phone in the office then started ringing, which startled me to no end. I put the cameras down by the sudden sound, then remembered that I was told that some instructions were going to come in via the phone, so went right back to the cameras, watching, waiting, waiting, watching.

The phone rang a few more times, then eerily stopped. It was silent for a while, then a recording started playing while I kept looking at the cameras.

"Uh, hello, hello!" The guy on the phone spoke. "See, I told you your first night wouldn't be a problem. You're a natural!"

"Yeah," I laughed, "and I'm Princess Celestia."

"Uh, by now I'm sure you've noticed the older models sitting in the back room."

 _ _He must be talking about the old animatronics Scott told me about last night.__ I thought to myself as I went back to wind the music box back up.

"Uh, those are from the previous location. We just use them for parts now."

"Yup," I quietly spoke, "he's talking about the old animatronics."

"The idea at first was to repair them...uh, they even started retrofitting them with some of the newer technology, but they were just so ugly, you know?"

"You're telling me," I joked, going back to check on the Stage, seeing everything was still in its rightful place.

"The smell...uh, so the company decided to go in a whole new direction and make them super kid-friendly."

"Still haven't seen that side of them yet." I sighed.

"Uh, those older ones shouldn't be able to walk around, but if they do, the whole Freddy head trick should work on them too, so, whatever."

"Wait, what?" I looked towards the mask from last night. "This thing?"

"Uh...heh...I love those old characters. Did you ever see Foxy the Griffon? Oh wait, hold on..."

There was a slight pause between sentences, so I took the opportunity to wind the music box again. Soon, the guy on the phone continued with his recording.

"Oh yeah, Foxy. Uh, hey listen, that one was always a bit twitch, uh...I'm not sure the Freddy head trick will work on Foxy, uh. If for some reason he activates during the night and you see him standing at the far end of the hall-"

"Come again!?" I said, hyperventilating a bit. I placed the cameras down and casted a light spell to see through to the end of the hall and, thankfully, there was nothing there.

"...Those older models would always get disoriented with bright lights."

"Well, I guess that's good information," I sighed, checking the Stage again.

"It would cause a system restart, or something. Uh, come to think of it, you might want to try that on any room where something undesirable might be."

"Try what?" I questioned. I was hyperventilating while he was speaking, so did I miss something important?

"That glitch might have carried over to some of the newer models too."

"Okay..." I sighed in relief.

"One more thing."

"There's more?" I asked myself.

"Don't forget the music box."

"Don't worry, buddy," I chuckled.

"I'll be honest, I never liked that puppet thing."

"Puppet?" I repeated, going into the camera the music box was at. "What puppet?"

"It was always...thinking, and it can go anywhere..."

"What!?" I shouted.

"I don't think the Freddy mask will fool it, so...just don't forget the music box."

"I will make it a mission not to!" I fearfully stated.

"Anyway, I'm sure it won't be a problem."

"Hopefully not." I said as I wound the music box up, like my life depended on it.

"Uh, have a good night, and talk to you tomorrow."

With that, the recording had ended and I was once again on my own with these animatronics. Tonight, though, they were behaving nicely; they have yet to leave the Stage.

"Just like animatronics during the night should behave!" I smiled, checking the Game Room, noticing nothing out of the ordinary.

The top right of the cameras showed that it currently was "3 AM." Time seemed to be moving a lot quicker tonight than last night. Perhaps it is because Scott gave me the lecture before my shift started, or perhaps it was because I was less scared than last night. Maybe it was because the animatronics weren't moving this time around. Whatever the case, I didn't mind it one bit. I just sat in my office and wound up the music box over at the Prize Counter remotely.

Time was going by quickly, which is what I had hoped for when I came in today. Nothing was going on, which was amazing and easy. Suddenly, there came a sound from beyond my office.

"What was that?" I questioned.

I put the cameras down, which currently read "4 AM," then shined my horn down the hallway in front of me. The light reached all the way towards the end of the hall and, in its path to the far wall, revealed nothing out of the ordinary, although I wasn't convinced.

"If I'm a night guard here," I told myself as the overhead clock chimed past 4:30, "why can't I go down the hallway to see what's going on instead of using nearly helpless cameras?"

I opted to wait a little while longer instead of just going down the hall to see for myself. It was better to ask another employee if I could meander about throughout the night instead of just assuming so.

I went back to the cameras and wound up the music box again in order to assure that "The Puppet" would not leave his post, wherever it may be. Tonight was surprisingly a very easy night, comparing it to my first night.

The sound came from the hallway again, forcing me to put the cameras back down and use my light spell to check on the deep, dark hallway. This time, when my light reached the far wall, in the middle of the eerie hallway stood an animatronic.

"Foxy the Griffon?" I questioned.

The animatronic at the far wall simply stood there and stared at me. It resembled a lot like a griffon does – with the front claws, rear paws, large wings, and whatnot – and just stared at me...menacingly.

"Foxy?" I called, receiving no answer. __Why is that thing even called "Foxy" in the first place? Foxy would imply that it is a fox, but that thing is a griffon...__

My thoughts were cut short as I saw Foxy start slowly moving towards my office, which sent slight shivers down my spine, causing my wings to shake and shuffle a bit.

 _ _Why are you getting closer?__ I thought. __The guy told me that bright lights disorientate you and would cause a system reset!__

The wacked out animatronic was getting closer and closer to my office. I didn't know what to do, but was fortunate to have another employee come in at just the right moment and help me out.

"Bad Foxy!" The Pegasus mare shouted, flashing the flashlight that was left on the table. "Go!"

The flashing light seemed to have disorientated Foxy and he began leaving and backing away from the office, back down the hall, and, eventually, out of sight.

My breath was short and my heart was pounding against my chest, but I was able to collect enough air and look over to the mare. She was smiling at me as I was breathing heavily.

"Scare ya?" She asked me.

"How did you do that?" I gasped, trying to fall into normal breathing patterns now.

"Easy," she replied, "you have to flash the light in his face, or anypony that reveals themselves in the hallway. That is the number one thing to do. What did you do?"

"I used my light spell and flashed him." I said.

"Did you keep a constant flash, Your Majesty?" She continued. "Or did you blink it at him?"

"Blink it?" I repeated.

"By blinking the light, quickly turning it on and off repeatedly," she explained, "it confuses the animatronics and causes the system to reset."

"Oh," I chuckled, "that must've been the portion of the recording I missed."

"Vital information, Your Majesty." the mare smiled.

"Indeed," I smiled in response, looking towards the clock, noticing it read "5:30 AM." I looked back towards the Pegasus mare. "You're here early tonight."

"Seemed like you needed help." She laughed.

"Good day to fall into trouble, I suppose." I joked.

"So it seems," she replied, "go on. I'll finish up your shift."

"Are you sure?" I asked, not wanting to anger anypony.

"Perfectly fine, Your Majesty," she answered, "besides, you look like you've seen a ghost."

"You could say that." I sniggered, rubbing my neck.

"Go on, go home," she repeated, "I'll cover things around here."

"Thank you, uhh,"

"Purple Grape," the mare spoke.

"Thank you, Purple Grape," I said, collecting my things and leaving for the day.

"You're welcome, Your Majesty." she smiled at me, closing the door behind me.

 _ _She seems very nice,__ I thought to myself, __I do hope that she goes a long way with her life decisions.__

I thought nothing more of tonight's shift as I went towards the coffee shop to pick up today's edition of the Ponyville Express. Today's headliner for the Express was even more interesting than yesterday's: Dead Ponies Found Inside Local Restaurant.

"Jeez," I told the shopkeeper, paying for the newspaper, "this restaurant isn't looking too good, is it?"

"Yeah," the shopkeeper replied, "supposedly, the owner of that new restaurant that came into town is in some real trouble or something."

"The owner of that Freddy Fazpony's Pizzeria down the road?" I asked.

"That'd be the one, Your Majesty," he smiled, "have a good day now."

"Thank you," I responded, "you too."

"Thank you."

I left the coffee shop with the newspaper tucked away in my saddlebag and headed to Twilight's castle. The lovely and shining crystallized castle shone greatly with the rising summer sun. I absolutely enjoyed seeing this castle and loved every inch of it; it was perfect.

When I arrived at Twilight's castle, she was there to greet me and immediately asked me how my shift went down at the pizzeria.

"It was good," I admitted, "I'll be winning that bet, you know,"

"Yeah," she scoffed, "we'll see about that."

"Oh, you'll see." I laughed.

* * *

That night, I arrived inside the pizzeria along with Twilight. She wasn't sleepy and wanted to see just exactly what I did here in the office, so I decided to bring her along for the fun. I alerted Scott hours earlier about bringing Twilight and his advise to me was to make sure she was safe, which was part of my job description. He also told me that he would be unable to see me again due to certain things, which I completely understood. That meant that a new recording was being left for me, which I didn't mind.

Tonight, however, the recording didn't kick in until the clock read "1:30 AM." Tonight, I had Twilight keep an eye on the hallway while I kept my attention towards the Stage and the music box. The music box was the number two priority to me, right after making sure Twilight was kept safe at all times throughout the shift tonight.

The phone began ringing and stopped a couple of minutes later, followed by the trademark recording.

"Hello, hello!"

"Hello!" Twilight smiled.

"See? I told you you wouldn't have any problems!"

"Not a single one." I lied.

"Did, uh, did Foxy ever appear in the hallway? Probably not."

"Nope." I lied again.

"I was just curious. Like I said, he was always my favorite."

"I'm sure he was." I smiled.

"They tried to remake Foxy, ya know?"

"No," I said, a bit intrigued, "I didn't know that..."

"Uh, they thought the first one was too scary, so they redesigned him to be more kid-friendly and put him in Kid's Cove."

 _ _Kid's Cove...__ I thought. __Camera 12?__

I hit Camera 12 and, sure enough, there was a white colored griffon laying along the floor in there. I remembered: Toy Foxy the Griffon.

 _ _But then...where's Balloon Filly?__

I searched all over for the last animatronic I have yet to see, unable to find her no matter where I looked. I didn't let that bother me too much as I went back to winding up the music box while the recording continued.

"But the little fillies and colts these days just can't keep their hooves to themselves. The staff literally had to put Foxy back together after every shift. So eventually, they stopped trying and just left her as some "take apart and put back together" attraction."

"Sounds like fun for the little ones." Twilight smiled, flashing light from her horn down the hallway to show that it was completely empty.

"Now she's just a mess of parts. I think the employees refer to her as just "The Mangle." Uh..."

"'The Mangle.'" I repeated.

"Oh, hey, before I go, uh, I wanted to ease your mind about any rumors you might have heard lately."

"Rumors?" Twilight asked me.

"You know how these local stories come and go and seldom mean anything."

"What stories?" she asked again.

"I can personally assure you that, whatever is going on out there, and however tragic it may be, has noting to do with our establishment."

"What is he talking about?" Twilight asked me again.

"I'll tell you once the recording is done." I replied.

"It's all just rumors and speculation...ponies trying to make a bit."

"I hope so." I quietly remarked.

"You know...uh, our guard during the day has reported nothing unusual, and he's on watch from opening til close."

"Sounds like a long shift." Twilight commented.

"Okay, well anyway, hang in there and I'll talk to you tomorrow."

With the recording over and the time at about 2:40 AM, I decided to share what the pony on the phone meant when he said "rumors and speculation" with Twilight. She wanted to know, so it was my duty to tell her.

"Recently," I began, winding up the music box some more, "there have been some articles in the Ponyville Express and the main headliner is that there is an investigation going on here about some dead ponies being stuffed in the suits and the animatronics malfunctioning and whatnot."

"Dead ponies?" Twilight repeated, putting much emphasis on 'dead.'

"It hasn't been confirmed, Twilight," I told her, checking the Stage, "but the investigation is around this corporation and they're threatening to shut this place down, I think."

"Sounds serious." Twilight inputted.

"I guess," I agreed, putting the cameras down to look at Twilight, "anything?"

"Not yet." Twilight confirmed.

"Okay," I smiled, "tell me when you see something out of the ordinary."

"Oka-"

"Twilight?"

"Wh-...Is that a griffon?"

I put the cameras back down and turned towards the end of the hall to see Foxy the Griffon paying a visit.

"Oh," I chuckled, "hey Foxy. How ya doing?"

"Foxy?" Twilight laughed. "That's its name?"

"Yup." I smiled. "That is Foxy the Griffon."

"Any others I should be aware of?" Twilight asked me.

"Well," I spoke, "there's a few of them."

"Care to tell me?"

"Sure!" I smiled. "There's the old animatronics: Freddy Fazpony the Earth pony, Chica the Pegasus, Bonnie the Bunny, and Foxy the Griffon. Then, there are the new animatronics: Toy Freddy Fazpony, Toy Chica the Pegasus, Toy Bonnie the Bunny, Toy Foxy the Griffon – otherwise known as The Mangle – and then there is Balloon Filly – the only one I haven't seen to this point."

"You told me there were ten of them," Twilight explained.

"Yes," I answered, "that's what Scott told me."

"But," she continued, "you only mentioned nine names."

"What?" I asked, checking the stage again.

"Foxy, Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, Toy Foxy, Toy Freddy, Toy Chica, Toy Bonnie, and Balloon Filly," Twilight reiterated, "that only adds up to nine names. Where is the tenth one?"

"You know," I spoke up, changing to the Prize Counter to wind the music box back up, "I don't know...I have only seen nine of them."

"Eight of them, Luny," Twilight corrected, "if you haven't seen Balloon Filly yet, you've only seen eight."

"Hmm...that's a question I'll have to ask one of the other employees when they come in."

"Sounds like a plan, Luny," Twilight giggled, her giggle echoing throughout the empty halls and vents.

I put the cameras back down and noticed something odd. At the end of the hall, Foxy appeared to be moving away, even though Twilight wasn't flashing her horn any more. Twilight kept her light constant while she had giggled and I noticed that Foxy had moved away, as if he...he was scared...of Twilight's laugh.

"Hey, look," I smirked, pointing to the retreating Foxy.

"What about him?" Twilight asked.

"When you were giggling," I continued, "Foxy was moving away."

Twilight laughed some more, "I'm the scariest animatronic of them all!"

"Haha!" I laughed, jointly. "I guess so."

"Hahaha!"

Foxy had completely left the hallway while Twilight and myself laughed on some more. I loved Twilight's laugh and actually tried to make her laugh a bit more so that I could listen to it some more. That's when I remembered the music box and went to go wind it back up.

I went back into the camera and noticed the time read "5:30 AM" and the stage was completely empty of all three toy animatronics. The camera to the Prize Counter had a red notification flashing, so I went to go wind the music box again. However, when I went to wind it back up, I saw this puppet-type thing revealing itself from a nearby box. I was literally so scared that I almost dropped the cameras, but managed to hang on and wind the music box all the way again. That seemed to stop the puppet from leaving the box and settled my heart down slightly.

I put the cameras away, then noticed the doors behind us had been opened. In the doorway stood Purple Grape and I greeted her to Twilight.

"Hello, Purple Grape," I smiled.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," she smiled. She then turned to Twilight. "And good morning to you, Princess Twilight."

"Good morning." Twilight acknowledged.

"Twilight is my marefriend and accompanied me on my shift today." I explained.

"Does Scott know?"

"He does and he said it was okay." I said.

"Okay then," Purple Grape continued, "well, your shift is over and I'm here to take over. Were there any mishaps?"

"Not a single one." I happily obliged.

"Well then," she replied, "time to start my shift."

"Good luck, Purple Grape," Twilight said, collecting our things and exiting the door behind us.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Purple Grape," I said, leaving through the door behind me, "have a good day."

"Thank you, and you too." Purple Grape smirked.

I turned to Twilight and smiled at her, wrapping my wing around her body, keeping her warm. Today's weather was slightly cooler than average and she looked a bit cold, so I thought that I would help her out.

"So how did you enjoy the shift?" I asked as we started making our way towards her castle.

"I thought that it was fun." She admitted. "Can I come back with you tomorrow?"

"Scott said that it was okay," I smiled, "and I loved having you for company while we worked together."

"So, is that a yes?"

"Yes," I laughed, "it is."

"Oh, thank you, Luny!" Twilight cheerfully replied.

"You're welcome, Twily!" I answered with equal cheerfulness.

We continued to enjoy the entire day together as I waited to go back for my fourth night at the restaurant.

* * *

"Hello? Hello? Uh, hey there, night four! I told you you'd get the hang of it!"

Twilight and myself had already been busy at work for the last couple of hours. Tonight was a busier night than usual for the animatronics, as they were all out and about, though they hadn't shown their faces to either of us yet.

"Okay, so uh, just to update you, uh, there's been somewhat of an, uh, investigation going on."

"Yeah," I sighed, winding up the music box, "we know."

"Uh, we may end up having to close for a few days...I don't know."

"Sounds like a convincing investigation against this place." Twilight added, flashing the light coming from her horn at Foxy repetitively.

"I want to emphasize though that it's really just a precaution."

"Yeah, sureee." I scoffed, flashing the light from my horn at Toy Chica in the hallway.

"Uh, Fazpony Entertainment denies any wrongdoing."

"As any corporation does," Twilight commented, taking a bit of a well-earned break.

"These things happen sometimes. Um...it'll all get sorted out in a few days."

"Sure it will," I sighed, winding the music box back up again.

"Just keep an eye on things and I'll keep you posted."

"Thanks, buddy." I sarcastically responded.

"Uh, just as a side note though, try to avoid eye contact with any of the animatronics tonight if you can."

"Why?" questioned Twilight, going back to flashing the light from her horn down the hallway again.

"Somepony may have tampered with their facial recognition systems – we're not sure."

"Sounds bad," I stated.

"But the characters have been acting very unusual, almost aggressive towards the staff. They interact with kids just fine, but when they encounter an adult, they just...stare."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" I asked.

"Uh...anyways, hang tight. It'll all pass. Good night!"

"I have a feeling that this guy is feeding us news to get us killed, Twilight," I sighed, flashing my light down the hall, "don't you agree so?"

"I agree one hundred percent, Lunar." Twilight smirked, flashing her light down the hall as well.

"Hello!" called a robotic, feminine voice.

"Alright," I sighed, "what was that?"

"I don't know," Twilight coughed, "and I don't really want to find out right now."

"Nor do I, my dear," I replied.

The system Twilight and myself had going lasted us for quite some time. Before we knew it, it was already 5:00 AM. Twilight and myself were trying to fend off these creepy animatronics for as long as we could but, something felt...off about them today. These animatronics seemed like they had the motivation to kill one of us...or both of us.

"How you holding up, Twily?" I asked, winding the music box up some more quickly.

"I'm tired from this." Twilight admitted.

"As am I," I agreed, "but you made a bet that I couldn't last a week and I am going through with it, whether I kill myself doing so or not."

"Lunar," Twilight sighed, "you don't have to do that. It's suicide!"

"I promised myself that I could make it through to the end of the week, and I will do just that."

"But, Lunar!" called Twilight.

"Nope," I smirked, winding the music box yet again, "I've already made up my mind to make it through to the end of the week and I will do just that."

Twilight shook her head, slyly smiling. "There is nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?"

"Nope." I chuckled shining my light down the hall, revealing absolutely nothing.

Twilight laughed as the door behind us began opening up. Purple Grape smiled in the doorway as she began setting her saddlebags on the ground in the corner of the office, opposite from our things.

"Busy night?" She asked us both.

"You have no idea," I sighed, resting the cameras to collect Twilight's saddlebags and mine.

Purple Grape laughed. "Well, go on, Your Majesty. You're relieved of your duties tonight."

"Thank you, Purple Grape," both Twilight and I said.

"You're both welcome," Purple Grape smirked.

"See you tomorrow?" I asked.

"You bet," she answered, "and remember: tomorrow is payday."

"Thank Celestia, hehe."

"You said it." Twilight and Purple Grape simultaneously said.

With that being said, Twilight and myself left the demented pizzeria to rest up and attempt at enjoying the day that was ahead of us. We were both tired, but knew that our royal duties called first, although they were easy compared to what we had to do at the office.

* * *

"Hello, hello? Hey, good job, night five!"

"Thanks, buddy." I sighed.

The time was 2:45 AM. The place was the office. My objective was to stay alive and make it through to the end of the night. Tonight was the final night in the week – I'm assuming – and I just wanted to make it through it so very much. Twilight and myself were back at our strategy and could do this until the end of time, should we need to. It was tough work, but we needed to do it and get through it together, even though I tried convincing Twilight to stay home. It was her idea to come back with me and no matter what I did, I could not convince her to stay home.

"Um, hey, um, keep a close eye on things tonight, okay?"

"Way ahead of you..." Twilight slightly giggled.

"Um, from what I understand, the building is on lockdown, uh, nopony is allowed in or out, y'know, especially concerning any...previous employees."

"Does that even make sense?" I questioned, winding the music box back up rapidly before I went back to flashing my light down the hallway along with Twilight.

"Um, when we get it all sorted out, we may move you to the day shift, a position just became...available."

"That is if you're still here, Lunar," laughed Twilight sarcastically.

"Yeah." I agreed.

"Uh, we don't have a replacement for your shift yet, but we're working on it."

"Are you now?" I scoffed, flipping through the cameras rapidly to check on everything.

"Uh, we're going to try to contact the original restaurant owner. Uh, I think the name of the place was..."

"What for?" Twilight questioned. "What would you need to ask those ponies?"

"...like that. It's been closed for years though, I doubt we'll be able to track anypony down."

"Figures..." I said, winding up the music box yet again. "Darn music box."

"Well, just get through one more night! Uh, hang in there! Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, you little-"

"Temper, temper, Lunar," Twilight interrupted.

"You're right, Twilight," I acknowledged, "it's just that this is incredibly stressful."

"You said it, Lunar," Twilight laughed, flashing her light down the hall, causing both Foxy and Bonnie to retreat elsewhere within the restaurant.

The time was 3:30 AM and the end of the shift could not come by any quicker. Twilight was busy flashing the animatronics that dared to show their faces in the hallway, but they appeared to be getting closer. The stress of the flashing was starting to strain Twilight, forcing her to take a break.

"It's too much for me, Lunar." She told me.

I tried winding up the music box as quickly as possible before I went back to flashing the animatronics down the hallway. I was with Twilight on this one – this was very painful and it was starting to become more than just a two-pony job. I looked towards the cameras, then towards my tired princess. A ridiculous idea popped into my mind when I stared at Twilight.

"Hey," I called, "take a break for a while and wind up the music box for me?"

"If it doesn't require any magic," she tiredly responded, taking the cameras.

"Make sure that music box is wound up at all times, Twilight," I advised her, "I'll take care of these psychopaths."

"Sounds like a plan," Twilight smiled, winding up the music box soundly.

"Come to Lunar!" I shouted towards the animatronics, wherever they all were.

"Don't sound too cocky now, Luny," Twilight laughed.

"I'm not cocky, Twily." I smiled, flashing my light at Toy Chica the Pegasus. "There's a new face."

"Who?" Twilight asked, looking down the hallway to check. "Toy Chica? Is that right?"

"Correct." I confirmed.

"But, if she's there, where's Foxy the Griffon?"

"Beats me." I boldly stated.

Twilight went back to checking the cameras to attempt at finding Foxy. That's when I had an assumption as to where he was.

"Check the "Parts and Services" room, Twilight." I said, still flashing Toy Chica.

"Which cam-never mind. I got it."

"He in there?" I asked.

"Uhh...yes, he is."

"Okay," I sighed with relief, "check between there and-"

"He's gone." Twilight called.

"Damn..." I grunted. "I see him moving into the hallway. What time is it?"

"Uhh, the cameras say that it is currently 5 o'clock."

"Okay," I said, "so we're almost finished here." I smiled. "Check the music box. Is it all good?"

"Fully wound up, Lunar," Twilight alerted me, "do you want some help?"

"It would be much appreciated, Twilight," I said, coughing slightly, "just make sure you keep checking the music box from time to time. I don't want that puppet thing to leave that box and come here."

"Will do, Luny." Twilight stated, flashing her light down the hallway with me.

"Almost done!" I called.

"Just a little bit longer!" added Twilight, who stopped flashing her light to check the condition on the music box.

We had flashed the animatronics with our lights for a little while longer, although it seemed like forever. I was growing tired, as was Twilight, whom was now winding the music box back up. Eventually, I ran out of strength for magic spells and could no longer flash my light down the hallway.

"Time?" I asked Twilight, a sense of panic settling in the sound of my voice.

"It is currently 5:30." Twilight told me.

"I can't flash my light anymore." I admitted.

"What?" Twilight questioned, dropping the cameras immediately.

"I can't cast another spell," I repeated, "I'm too tired..."

"Then I'll finish flash-"

Twilight was unable to finish her sentence for when she tried to flash down the hallway, she couldn't do it either.

"We're sitting ducks if we can't flash our lights down the hall." I sadly spoke, hearing a lone tin can roll across the dark hallway.

"What about the laughing?" Twilight suggested.

"That's right!" I smiled. "They were scared whenever you laughed!"

"So, wanna crack a joke, Luny?" Twilight smirked.

"If you insist." I said. I had to act quickly since we didn't have a lot of time and the animatronics were getting closer to the office. I didn't need that much time, since I had a joke already in my mind.

"Lunar?" Twilight called.

"What did the filly tell her friend when she was asked how old she was?" I asked.

"What?"

"Nein. Nein! NEIN!" I chuckled.

Twilight laughed a little bit, but I could tell that she was milking most of the laugh. I decided to keep on going with witty puns, the lowest form of humor in the comedic world.

"Speaking of fillies, you could say that I am filly-ing you up with plenty of laughs," I smirked, "right?"

Twilight had laughed slightly harder than the last time, but I could tell that she was still milking her laughs. It didn't matter much since the sounds that were coming from the hallway sounded as if they had been getting further away from the office meaning, hopefully, that the animatronics were leaving the hallway to take shelter elsewhere.

"Time?" I asked.

Without ceasing her sweet and innocent giggle, Twilight alerted me that it was 5:57; only three minutes to go; three minutes until the next employee comes.

"So a Pegasus, a Griffon, and a-"

Without notice, the door behind us had opened up and revealed a new pony. This pony wasn't the same as Purple Grape was and was significantly different. This was an Earth pony and a much smaller Earth pony than Twilight was.

"Hello?" I called. "Can I help you?"

"I'm the new mare, Your Majesty." she called.

"What's your name?" Twilight asked.

"Green Emerald is my name, Your Highness." The mare answered.

"Are you here for the 6 AM to 12 AM shift?" I asked.

"I am." Green Emerald smiled.

"Okay," I beamed with delight, seeing Twilight go over to collect our things.

"Anything I need to know before I take over, Your Majesty?"

"Make sure you keep the music box wound up and laugh if you need to." I advised.

"Will do." She smiled.

I went over to the door and was just about to leave with Twilight wen Green Emerald stopped us one last time.

"Have a good day now, you two," she called.

"You too," we both replied, "and good luck."

"I'll see you tomorrow!" Green Emerald said, checking the cameras.

"I don't know about that, Green Emerald." I stated.

"Oh," she responded, traits of surprise sounding in her voice, "Scott told me that tomorrow was your last day. He said that you had to finish the Thursday night shift."

"That wasn't what I was told." I claimed, looking towards Twilight.

"Well," Green Emerald coughed, winding the music box up, "if I see you tomorrow, I will. But if not, thanks for the advise, Your Majesty."

"You're welcome, little filly." I smiled as Twilight and myself left the hellhole that was known as Freddy Fazpony's Pizzeria.

Twilight looked over to me and could tell just by looking into my eyes that I wanted to prove I could last one more night. She scoffed at me, which forced me to address my thoughts.

"You don't think I can do it, can you?" I asked.

"I don't want you to," Twilight smiled, pressing her body up against mine, "but I can already tell that my arguing will not change your mind."

"Nope." I laughed, trying to sound like Big Macintosh for a moment.

"Well," continued Twilight, "you're going to need my help, aren't you."

"I'd like your company, Twily," I admitted, "but I think I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Oh?" Twilight questioned. "Like what?"

"You'll see." I replied, looking up towards Ditzy Doo moving a cloud in the wrong direction, giving me a few chuckles as Twilight and myself went back home.

* * *

"Tell me, how is this supposed to keep us safe?"

"Trust me, it will."

"What did you do exactly?" asked Twilight.

"I placed a barrier across all the doors and vents inside the building and slightly altered the animatronics behaviors a bit." I admitted.

"Is that allowed?" Twilight questioned.

"Beats me," I smirked, "but my week is up after today."

"So it is," Twilight acknowledged, "looks like I'll be doing whatever Pinkie Pie and you put together for me."

"It's okay," I spoke, "you don't have to do that."

"Thanks, Luny," Twilight smiled.

"You're welcome, Twily." I kissed her cheek.

The time was about 2:30 AM and so far, the animatronics of the building have been unable to break free of the barriers I had set up prior to my shift starting. I was determined to make this an easy night, and that is what I did. Twilight and myself kept on talking to each other until about 3 AM, when the phone had started ringing for some apparent reason.

"Hmm..." I thought. "I wonder who that is."

"I don't know," Twilight said, "another recording?"

"Maybe, I don't know."

Turns out it was another recording. This recording, however, seemed a bit different than the previous ones we had been left with.

"Hello? Hello...uh...what in Equestria are you doing there, uh, didn't you get the memo?"

"What memo?" I asked.

"Uh, the place is closed down, uh, at least for a while."

"Really?" I slightly panicked.

"Somepony used one of the suits."

"What!?" Twilight shockingly shouted.

"We had a spare in the back, a yellow one, somepony used it..."

"Oh no..." I muttered.

"Now none of them are acting right."

"I can't believe that..."

"Listen j-just finish your shift. It's safer than trying to leave in the middle of the night."

Without missing a beat, I felt one of the animatronics manage to break through my barrier, something I could not put back into effect in time.

"They're coming." I told Twilight. "We have to act fast."

"Back to the same old plan?" She asked me, flashing her light down the hallway, managing her power more closely this time around.

"Let's get to it and show these buckets of bolts a thing or two." I smirked, checking the cameras to notice that the puppet was gone. "Uh oh..."

"What happened?" Twilight asked me.

"The puppet!" I exclaimed. "He's gone!"

"Quick!" Twilight gasped. "Activate defense shields!"

"Activating!" I shouted, placing a stronger, more contained force field between us and the animatronics, however, we could see them all approaching our office.

One animatronic seemed to stick out the most to us both. This thing, a white, eyeless puppet thing jumped at Twilight and myself from the darkness, only to be stopped by the force field I casted moments earlier.

Twilight jumped back and into my hooves, frightened out of her pretty little mind. I caught her and eyed her, much love, but a bit of concern with my eye.

"You okay?" I asked her.

"Never better." she answered. "Can you keep up the spell?"

"I can and will, Twily," I smiled, "so long as they don't continue banging on it."

"You want me to put up a secondary shield?"

"That's up to you, my dear," I called, feeling the pain the animatronics were giving me by pounding on the shield.

Twilight smirked, sitting down in my lap. "I'll take that as a yes, Luny." She then kissed my cheek, casting a second shield.

I looked up at the clock and saw that it read 5:30 AM. I saw that the animatronics were able to break through the first shield, damaging me significantly. It actually damaged me to the point that I found it hard casting other spells.

Twilight eyed me, of which I was rubbing my horn. She kissed my horn, then eyed the door behind us. Then she eyed me.

"On three?" questioned Twilight.

"We leave?" I added.

"One."

The animatronics started cracking the shield.

"Two."

The animatronics destroyed the shield.

"Three!"

The animatronics jumped at us. We were fortunate to act just in time and scramble through the door, Twilight first, then me. I slammed the door shut behind us and used larger, stronger rocks to block the way so that the animatronics couldn't leave either.

We may it out just in time and I'm glad my week in this place is over...all that remains is the whereabouts of Scott.

"I wonder why he didn't show up again." I slowly stated.

"I don't know," Twilight replied as we slowly walked home together, "but I wonder where he went."

"Beats me," I sighed, "but I'm glad that it's all over. Now things can go back to normal."

"Yes they can." smiled my perfect little mare.

I continued smiling as Twilight and I walked home together.

* * *

"They are never put down."

Scott was busy in an unknown location, working on n unknown project in a dark room.

"They always have a place in our hearts."

And with bolts awry, the unknown project began moving on its own, pleasing Scott to no avail.

"They will see," laughed Scott, sounding evilly in the process, "they'll all see! You can't put us to sleep!"


	5. Robotic Busts

_**Robotic Busts**_

* * *

 _ _What happened to me? I don't remember anything.__

"Get him in there STAT!"

 _ _What? Get who in where?__

"Hook him up into that!"

 _ _What's going on? Where are you taking me?__

Many hours have gone by and what was said next was surely unthinkable, almost impossible really.

"It's no good...he can't sustain these wounds."

"What if we convert him?"

"Convert?

"Y'know, transform him into a-"

"No, it's too dangerous!"

"But think of how the princess would feel if we just let him die." The nurse shook her head. "She wouldn't like that."

The doctor grunted. "Fine, but this will take a long time to pull off. And although his chances at living are increased, the odds are still against him."

"It's all we can do." The nurse reiterated.

The doctor nodded, then began performing surgery on the fallen ally.

* * *

It took a long time, but the doctor and nurse came back out into the waiting room, where she was currently waiting. She looked at the door the doctor and nurse came from and saw their coats and equipment were all bathed in red; his blood. She appeared to break down and cry, but the doctor advised her that a miracle has occurred in the emergency room.

"A miracle?" She sputtered.

The doctor nodded, then opened up the door to the emergency room, allowing her to step in and take a look for herself. She moved in to the room, looked over at the table, and saw her lover and husband. Her prince.

"Is...is that him?" She asked.

"That is him," the doctor responded.

"What happened to him?" She said.

"His wounds were too severe to fix, so we tried improvising and...this...happened."

"He's...he's..."

The nurse came in and nodded at her. "He's a robot."

He woke up right there and looked around. He finally saw where he was hours after coming here. He turned a bit more and laid his eyes on her. His princess.

"Yo-you're still here." He spoke. His voice didn't sound different from how it was prior to the transformation, but she didn't notice that.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, approaching him slowly.

"I feel rejuvenated," he admitted, "refreshed." He lifted himself up and rested firmly on the ground.

"What are you doing?" She spoke. "You need to rest."

He shook his head, which resulted in animatronic sounds. She took note of that. "I'm fine," he stated, "I feel stronger than ever before." He began walking around the room, resulting in more robotic sounds. _**_**ZOOP-ZEEP-ZOOP-ZEEP.**_**_

"Are you sure?" She questioned. "You've been through a lot."

He nodded in response. _**_**ZEE-ZER-ZEE-ZER.**_**_

She was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable by the robotic sounds he was exerting. She looked towards the doctor and politely asked him if she could have a word with her outside the room. The doctor obliged to her comment and request, stepping out for a moment with her. He shut the door behind them and she turned and began whispering to him.

"Is he going to keep making those sounds?" She asked.

The doctor nodded. "Much apologies, madam, but that's how robots are. They can't help with the sounds they make. It's their way of having a notion sent from our brains to our muscles. They make the sounds because the motherboard is telling the circuits and gears what to do."

"So, those sounds are normal then?"

"They are." He turned his head towards the door. "And that's not all."

"What do you mean?" She said.

The doctor chuckled slightly. "Well, chances are...he heard what we said."

"What?"

"He's right, you know!" He called from behind sealed doors.

The doctor opened up the doors and revealed that he was standing in the same spot from before they left. He approached the doctor and her and stopped in front of them, smiling brightly. The doctor smiled back, then began explaining to her what was different.

"He has enhanced hearing, as we've witnessed."

His ears started moving in rather interesting patterns, making the trademark robotic sound again. _**_**ZEE-ZEE-ZOO-ZEE-ZEE-ZOO.**_**_

"He also doesn't have the type of magic that you and I do." The doctor continued, pointing at his horn.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Instead of the magic," the doctor spoke, "his horn now generates electricity. He has to learn how to control it, but when he does, he will be able to do what we do with our magic, just with electricity."

"Cool," he spoke, trying it out for himself, bu shocking himself as a result.

His princess and the doctor both rubbed his metal back, comforting him slightly.

"It's okay," she told him in her soothing voice, "it'll just take some time to get used to, that's all."

"Right," he responded.

The doctor continued listing his differences. "He also doesn't have feathered wings anymore. They've been replaced with aerodynamic plates that dually act as both wings and gliders. He'll be able to fly higher, faster, and longer than ever before."

"Cool." He smiled, looking at his own wings.

"And this is the most drastic change made to him: he no longer needs to breathe."

"Breathe?" She repeated.

"Yes," the doctor replied, "his need for oxygen is no longer necessary. His circuit boards take care of his breathing problems now, but that's an explanation far too detailed to go into right now."

"So...what exactly is he then?" She asked cautiously.

"He's a super-bot." The doctor answered. "He can handle anything and everything that gets thrown at him with slight ease, depending on the situation. He is an android that can take charge, but be gentle as well. He is a reborn robot."

"Lunar Nights," Twilight said, "the robotic alicorn prince."

"Precisely," Doctor Whooves smirked.

"It was a lot to do," Nurse Redheart added, "but we did it."

"And I am grateful I have a second chance at living again." Lunar Nights beamed.

Now living as a robotic android, Lunar Nights and Twilight Sparkle now had a new problem to overcome: Twilight learning to accept Lunar for who he now is.

* * *

 _ _ **~Seven Hours Before The Surgery~**__

It was an okay day outside, an overcast of clouds had been covering all the land. Pegasi from all over Ponyville kept bringing in rain clouds for the storm that was to happen during the evening. Presently, Prince Lunar Nights, known to everypony as simply Lunar, was currently helping Applejack on her farm. She requested assistance earlier in the day and since Twilight was away in Canterlot for a royal summit, Lunar opted to help Applejack out, as did Rainbow Dash.

He was carrying loads of apples and pulling a cart full of them at the same time. The cart was gradually filling up as each tree gave way to more apples falling. It was almost time for cider season and Applejack wanted to get a head start on the cider making this time around. She knew that ponies always complained when they ran out and wanted to be sure that she wouldn't run out on launch day.

 _ _BUCK!__

Another tree gave way to apples; some 26 apples, to be exact. The apples were dumped into the large cart and the group moved on to the next set of trees. The cart was growing heavier as time passed, but Lunar didn't mind that. He actually continued pulling the cart rather easily. Applejack kept asking him if the cart was getting too heavy, but Lunar dismissed the question each time.

"You'll know when it's too heavy," He chuckled.

"Alright, sugar cube," she snickered, "don't say that Ah di'n't warn ya, though. These apples add up over time."

"One could assume that the apples will become easier to pull over time as well." Lunar smiled. "I'll let you know if it's starting to get to heavy, though. Don't you worry."

"Ah won't," replied Applejack.

Presently, Rainbow Dash arrived with two full baskets of apples, ready to be dumped into the cart below. She flew high up in the sky, above the cart's location, and began dumping the apples below.

"Heads up!" she called before flying back to collect more apples.

Lunar looked up and saw the apples falling. With his magic, he caught all the apples and gently placed them in the cart. This wasn't the first time Rainbow Dash dropped the apples this way, but it began bothering Lunar slightly. He grunted, but didn't say anything about it. Applejack heard his grunt and understood the problem. She began approaching Lunar on the subject.

"Ah know, Lunar," she said, "Ah wish she'd jus' come down and dump 'em in herself, but y'know Rainbow Dash...that mare can't stand still for the shortest of time."

Lunar laughed. "You said it, not me." Applejack laughed, then the pair moved on to the next tree.

Over time, the cart grew heavier and heavier. Lunar could still pull it, but he needed more effort than what he previously gave before. When Rainbow Dash came back, she flew down next to Lunar and began dumping the last batch of apples in the cart.

"That's all of 'em." She said.

The cart began rumbling as the last apples poured into it. The group was close by the barn, so Applejack decided to leave the cart there for tonight and pick up there in the morning. It was getting late and the light was growing dim. The ponies were tired as well and longed for some rest in their comfy beds back in their respective homes.

"Thanks for helpin' today, y'all," Applejack smiled, "Ah don't think Ah could've done this without ya."

"Don't sweat it, AJ," smirked Rainbow Dash.

"It's the least we could do for a friend like you," added Lunar as the cart was detached from his body.

"Well, Ah'll take it from here and Ah'll see y'all tomorrah."

"Goodnight, Applejack," Lunar and Rainbow Dash said, leaving the farm and headed for home.

Rainbow Dash began flying to her cloud home. She called out to Lunar. "Goodnight, Lunar. Get home safe!"

"You too!" He shouted back as he began his trip home.

The athletic cerulean Pegasus flew out of sight while Lunar walked home towards the castle. He loved sharing the castle with Princess Twilight, his wife, and loved that it was here in quiet, petite Ponyville. Originally a city colt, Lunar did miss the hustle and bustle Baltimare had to offer, but loved the serenity Ponyville had to offer, especially with Twilight. It was thanks to her and Princess Luna that Lunar stood where he was presently.

Most of his walk home was by himself. Many of the ponies had sought out shelter in their homes for the pending rainstorm. Lunar was doing the same. He never liked his coat getting wet. Consider him to have have a little Rarity inside his genes, but he hates getting wet, unless it's by his own doing.

Lunar was happy. He was a bright alicorn walking home to the castle. That is, until Discord showed up. Although Twilight insisted he had changed for the better, Lunar would not buy it. He thought of something bad happening when Discord showed his ugly head to him. Things haven't been the same since his betrayal to ponydom.

Smirking, Discord greeted Lunar and stopped him in his tracks.

Lunar grew displeased. "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing really, __Your Majesty__ _,_ " He replied. Lunar hated when Discord called him that, but Discord took no notice. "What in Equestria would you be doing out here all alone?"

"That's really none of-"

Discord interrupted Lunar, placing a finger over his mouth. "I'm sure it is. After all, a royal - erherm - prince like you would surely be left unguarded out by yourself."

"I can handle-"

"It really does intrigue me that Princess Twilight doesn't keep any royal guards on staff in her castle."

"It's __our__ _-_ "

"Y'know, after being crowned a princess, everypony would want to have a chance to be her." Discord then positioned himself no more than a few centimeters from Lunar's face, smiling. "Or you, prince."

Lunar grunted. "Look, if you're here just to stir up games or trouble, forget it. I'm not as gullible as any pony you'd know. Good luck in cracking my shell, because I am one tough nut." He then walked home more without even saying goodbye to Discord.

 _ _We'll see about that,__ thought Discord as he went back to his thinking tree, concocting a plan.

* * *

Lunar arrived home no more than twenty minutes after his encounter with Discord. He wasn't in a particularly happy mood and didn't feel like talking to anypony else afterwards. He left straight for home and locked himself inside his room. He couldn't really leave the castle locked as of now since the library was public ground, which was inside the castle.

Laying on his bed, Lunar stared blindly at the ceiling. He thought of what Discord said and it continued to irk him so.

" _Princess Twilight doesn't keep any royal guards in her castle,_ " Lunar mocked, "Pfft...the nerve of him."

"Well __excuuuuuuuse__ me!" Discord smirked, his voice echoing about in the room.

Lunar rolled his eyes. "What is it now, Discord?"

Discord revealed himself to Lunar, rocking back and forth in an air-rocking chair. "Oh my...manners much, mister?" He poked Lunar's horn.

"Ow!" cried Lunar. He batted at Discord's paw. "Cut it out!"

Discord pointed at Lunar. "See!? Right there!"

"Why have you come here?" Lunar said, ignoring Discord's claim.

"What?" He responded. "Can't a guy visit his favorite prince?" Lunar simply stared back while Discord rambled on. "Okay, maybe not the best of options to say."

"You think?"

"Nonetheless," continued Discord, "what if I told you that I am here to send a message?"

Lunar scoffed. "What message?"

Discord popped out some glasses and started reciting a message from a paper scroll. "Hear ye, hear ye! Prince Lunar Nights! Your time has come!" With that, Discord snapped his fingers and had disappeared from the castle.

Lunar rolled his eyes, then quietly rested on his bed, quickly drifting off towards sleep. Discord, silently revealing himself once more, spied on Lunar until he knew that Lunar would not wake up.

* * *

 _"_ _ _Prince Lunar!__ _"_ A voice cried out. This voice was Princess Luna's voice.

"Princess Luna?" Lunar called.

"Prince Lunar," Princess Luna continued, not showing herself to him, "you neigh have a moment to spare. Wake up! You're about to be attacked!"

"What?" Lunar said, quite shocked at what he heard. "By who? Where? When?"

"Wake up!"

A stunned Lunar tried waking up, but currently found it very difficult to perform.

* * *

In the real world, a very sinister looking Tirek and Discord, teaming up yet again, were with Lunar in his room unattended. The two villains were overlooking the sleeping alicorn and attempted to conjugate a plan on the spot. Tirek, held back by magical shackles, did not look as weak as he last was but was unsure if he still had enough power to take Lunar's magic away. He looked at Discord and grunted.

"You know that I don't have enough strength to take his magic away." Tirek advised. "I can' start with alicorns and work backwards!"

"I had a thought," Discord replied, "what if we beat him to a pulp and then you take his magic away? Or, or..." Discord found himself in a pickle.

"Beating up this puny pony wouldn't help either." Tirek told Discord.

Discord then came up with a ludicrous idea. "What if you take my magic? Could you take his away then?"

Tirek thought about it. "One could try. Never tried starting with another being's magic, then going to ponies."

"If it works, I'll need my magic back," Discord advised, "and I'll work on my end of the deal."

"I'll hold you to it, Discord." Tirek threatened.

Discord nodded, then proceeded to have his magic stripped away from him. Tirek grew in size, but not enough for his shackles to break off. In fact, his shackles grew with him and indirectly cut his power in half, though Tirek did not know this.

"Alright, pony!" Tirek shouted at Lunar.

Lunar, unaware of what was going on, was being kept under a spell issued originally by Discord. With Discord's magic gone, Lunar finally started waking up and noticed the two villains in the room. Acting quickly, he tried sending them both away, but it was no good. Tirek had started taking away Lunar's magic, although it took Tirek a lot more power to do so than he thought it would.

"Puny pony!" Tirek boomed. "Did you think you could defeat me again!?"

Lunar's magic was stripped entirely from him as Tirek grew in size once more, becoming weaker due to the magic shackles, which grew with him once more. Tirek turned to Discord and granted his magic back to him, shrinking in size slightly. The two villains towered over Lunar, who tried fighting back but was left extremely weak and vulnerable.

"Payback, whelp!" Tirek shouted, punching Lunar in the face.

Lunar collapsed to the ground and was left unconscious as Tirek and Discord continued laying a beating on the defenseless alicorn.

* * *

Time had passed before anyone found Lunar in his room. Tirek and Discord were long gone, Tirek back to Tartarus and Discord back to his home, but they left Lunar struggling to stay alive.

When Twilight finally came home, she was greeted to a streak of red being excreted from Lunar's room. She was in a state of shock and, with Spike, started to break down the door with magic and fire. Eventually, the duo managed to break in to Lunar's room, where they saw him beaten, cut, bruised, and broken.

"LUNAR!" cried Twilight.

"What happened?" asked Spike.

Acting instinctively, Twilight gently levitated Lunar on to her back. Grunting and holding Lunar firmly against her back, Twilight started moving out and taking Lunar to the hospital. He was very heavy, but Twilight pushed onward towards the hospital.

* * *

"I need a doctor!" Twilight cried upon bursting into the hospital.

Nurses looked at the petite princess and noticed the slain prince on her back and quickly grabbed a bed for him to lay down on. Doctors ran around, trying to get the prince his much needed assistance. They all eventually rolled him into the emergency room and started operating on him, hoping to cleanly fix him and save his life.

"Get him in there STAT!"

The robotic construction of Prince Lunar Nights had begun, beginning the story.

* * *

 _ _ **~Day 1~**__

The morning after the surgery was a bit rough for Twilight to take in. Prior to waking up, she heard some fans increasing in speed. The fans belonged to Lunar's systems, but Twilight did not know this yet. She looked around, then finally glanced at Lunar. His body was gleaming in the light given by Celestia's sun, causing a rather harsh morning glare in the room. Shielding her eyes, she looked to see if Lunar was awake.

"Lunar?" She asked quietly.

Lunar's systems fully booted up, exiting sleep mode and entering a state of active usage for the day. He opened his eyes, and turned to Twilight, crafting more of the trademark robotic sounds.

"Good morning, Twilight," he spoke.

She smiled. "Good morning, Lunar."

Normally, Twilight would hug Lunar upon waking up in the morning, but this time, she did not hug him. Lunar wondered why, bringing it up to her indirectly.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, positioning himself in a better way.

Twilight moved away a bit. "N-No...it's nothing."

Lunar's systems confirmed that Twilight was lying to him, and he even knew it without the systems. "It's me, isn't it?"

"Wha-no, no."

"Is it my robotic stature?" Lunar asked.

"...A little..." she admitted.

Lunar sighed. "Look, Twily...I'm still the same pony...I've not changed in any way."

Twilight stared into Lunar's eyes and saw past his circuits for just a moment. "That's not true..."

"It is true, Twily."

"How have you not changed, Luny?" challenged Twilight. "You're not the same as before. Before, you were a pony but now? Now you're just a robot..." She started to shed some tears. "I fell in love with the pony you...not the robot you."

Lunar felt heartbroken. He did not know how to respond, nor wanted to. Instead, he rose himself from the bed and walked out of the room without saying a single word. He walked out into the large hallway, filled only by the sounds coming from his systems.

 ** _ **ZOOP-ZEEP-ZOOP-ZEEP**_**

Nothing was said by Lunar as he was left heartbroken by Twilight. He wanted to let out some sadness through the form of tears, but his systems didn't generate tears like a pony can. He left the castle and blasted into the sky, flying far away for now.

Meanwhile, Twilight was starting to regret what she said to Lunar. This wasn't how she wanted to start her day, and now she had no one there for her right now. Spike, walking along the hallways at the moment, heard Twilight crying and slowly entered into her room. He looked at Twilight and went over to her, comforting her as best as he could.

"Come here, Twilight," he told her, hugging her and rubbing her back as Twilight continued crying.

"Oh, Spike," Twilight wept, "I've made a terrible mistake..."

"What happened?" Spike asked.

"I let Lunar walk out on me, Spike," Twilight admitted.

"What?" Spike said, shocked. "Why?"

"I told him that I was in love with his pony self, but not his robot self." Twilight answered, wiping her eyes dry from tears.

"Twilight," Spike started, "he may look different now, but his spirit is still there."

"Huh?"

"Look at him," continued Spike, "you may only notice how he looks now, but I still see the same pony inside. His spirit is still there, but his way of life and looks have changed. Call me out on it, but you fell in love with him for __how__ he acted. Right now, you're judging him by how he looks, but not by how he acts. Twilight, give it some time...you'll learn to look past his own looks and accept him for who he really is now."

Twilight thought about Spike's words and hugged him back. "Thank you, Spike...what would I do without you?"

"I dunno, Twilight," he replied, "and you're welcome."

* * *

In the skies, Lunar was flying faster than he ever had flown before. He was left heartbroken and did not know how to cope with the pain he was feeling. Normally, a flight through the skies and clouds would clear his mind and help him cope with any problem, but this particular flight - his first one as a robotic android - wasn't really helping him.

"How could she say that...?" Lunar said to himself.

The howling wind whizzing by his body had nothing to say on the subject.

Lunar sped up, bent on the build-up of internal anger. "Now that I'm a robot, she doesn't love me anymore?"

Again, the howling wind had no comment. The thunder that was in the clouds ahead had other plans though. Still, Lunar sped up even further.

"She has the-the-the-"

Lunar didn't notice, but his circuits had started resetting themselves due to technical failure. How this technical failure came about, no one is entirely sure. Perhaps it was the speed Lunar was traveling - that of a small plane, mind you - or perhaps it was because of the extensive altitude he was at now, nearly at the edge of the exosphere. Eventually, however, Lunar's systems forced-reset themselves at a poorly-planned time.

While being reset, Lunar was left in sleep mode. In addition to sleep mode, Lunar was left in a free-falling state, accelerating towards the ground at a rather inhumane speed. He couldn't do much about it since he was inactive and his gliders had been tucked away.

"System restart: 47%." His motherboard advised.

Falling at a much faster rate, the ground was quickly approaching. His systems were still force-restarting themselves.

"System restart: 76%."

On the ground, a pony saw the falling prince and pointed him out.

"Somepony's falling!" They shouted.

The ground was dangerously close now, but Lunar's systems still haven't restarted yet.

"System restart: 98%."

"Prince Lunar!" Another pony called.

"System restart complete."

Lunar opened his eyes just in time to see the concrete ground. He readjusted himself within milliseconds and crashed into the ground, but no damage was felt by Lunar. Remember, he was a super-bot. Lunar didn't know just yet that this also meant that he could take a lot of damage and still be completely fine. The other ponies were just as shocked as he was, but for more reasons than one. This was the first time Lunar Nights had been publicly displayed as a ponybot.

* * *

 _ _ **~The First Evening~**__

"Shocking news out of downtown Baltimare as Prince Lunar Nights, the Prince of the Night and husband to the Princess of Friendship, Princess Twilight Sparkle, crashed into the center of Mane Street and First from the sky. Eyewitnesses describe the scene as, quote, 'something out of a play,' unquote."

"I was just walking down the sidewalk and saw this figure approach the ground much too fast. I thought it was something from one of the buildings, but I saw it was the Prince."

"I just saw like a small, like, figure falling and thought nothing of it at first. Then I saw that it was him and I was like, 'whoa.'"

"It was weird...how could he live through a fall like that?"

"Sources say that the Prince fell from the sky and slammed into the ground, but no visible damage was found on his body. Shockingly, we found that his body was not normal. Our very own Press Notes was on the scene shortly after, interviewing the Prince on what exactly happened."

"Prince Lunar Nights, could you explain to us what happened in Baltimare today?"

"I just temporarily shut down, nothing too serious," Lunar responded in the interview.

"'Temporarily shut down,'" repeated Press Notes, "can you explain what that means?"

"My systems shut down for unknown reasons." Lunar answered.

"What happened to you?" Press Notes asked. "The last time we saw you, which was at the royal wedding - congratulations, by the way - you were a regular alicorn pony. Now...what's happened to you?"

"Thank you," Lunar acknowledged, "but as for the latter of the two questions, I cannot explain what happened because I do not remember what happened."

"So, what are you?"

"I am a super-bot. I am a robotic android. I am Prince Lunar Nights, a robotic alicorn Prince."

"Thank you, Prince," Press Notes smiled, "back to you."

"Thank you, Press Notes." The news reporter replied. "In response to the realization of a ponybot in our midst, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna responded with this:"

A video showing the two Princesses standing tall, addressing the media. "Prince Lunar Nights is _not_ a menace to our society." Princess Celestia said.

Princess Luna spoke next. "We will be monitoring the Prince as soon as we can. It is imperative that we get to the bottom of this dilemma immediately."

* * *

 _ _ **~Inside Canterlot Castle~**__

"Prince Lunar," Princess Luna started, "What has happened to you?"

Lunar looked down in disgrace. "My systems shut down on me. There's no physical reason or explanation I have that explains what happened."

"I don't think she means what you think she means," Princess Cadance added. She just so happened to be visiting Canterlot at the current time.

"What do you mean then?" asked Lunar.

"I think she means with your body." Princess Celestia stated. "Your robotic self."

Lunar shifted. "I don't know, Princess...one moment, I was asleep as a pony. The next moment, I wake up in a hospital as a robot. There's that time frame between those two dates where I don't know what happened."

"What about Princess Twilight?" Princess Cadance asked.

"She was here for a small summit." Princess Celestia advised.

"Where is she right now, Prince Lunar?" Princess Luna questioned.

Lunar looked at Luna firmly, telling her: "I don't know. Last time I saw her, she-" He paused slightly. "She was home in the castle, and that was during the morning."

Princess Cadance didn't like that answer, but Celestia and Luna bought it. Excusing herself, Princess Cadance asked Lunar to meet her in the hallway for a moment. Celestia and Luna also excused themselves, preparing to lower the sun and raise the moon.

Lunar looked puzzled. "You want to see me?"

"Come along," Princess Cadance said, "I want to ask you something."

The two alicorn stepped out and started walking towards the room Cadance was staying in for tonight. Just before they reached her room, Lunar turned his head.

"Is something the matter?" Cadance asked.

"I'm just..." He stopped his answer.

"Just what?"

"..." Lunar didn't respond.

Princess Cadance didn't take it the wrong way, but she dropped the subject and opened the door to her room, allowing Lunar to enter first. She entered shortly thereafter and closes the door being her, locking it as well. She stood in front of Lunar, staring at him deeply.

"Something isn't right, isn't it?" She said after a long silence.

"Is it that obvious?" Lunar responded.

Cadance nodded. "Something happened between you and Twilight...what was it?"

Lunar sighed, then cooled his systems down. Both he and Princess Cadance knew that they were going to be here for quite a while. He looked squarely into her eyes and started explaining what was troubling him to her.

"I woke up this morning, booting my systems up no problem." He began.

"Go on." Cadance said.

He nodded. "She looked over to me and I could see in her eyes that something wasn't right."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," continued Lunar, "to make a long story short, she said she didn't love me for my robotic self, but for my pony self...if that makes any sense..."

Princess Cadance nodded. "Twilight's probably just going through a lot right now...she's never met one of your kind before, let alone be married to one."

"But it hurt my feelings, Cadance," protested Lunar, "doesn't that mean anything?"

"It does, Lunar," Cadance acknowledged, wrapping one of her hooves around Lunar's metallic back, "but you have to think of it in her perspective and the same goes for her. She has to realize that you're still you...just in a different body."

"Try telling her that..." Lunar muttered.

Princess Cadance thought about that for a while. __Maybe I will try...__

The two ponies then parted ways for the evening and headed for bed. It was a long day, especially for Lunar, who did not feel like talking to anypony else for the night. He left the castle, then headed straight for home, back to where it all began.

Meanwhile, Discord overheard everything and quietly sniggered in his room. His plan was starting to work, but not in the way he had imagined it would.

"Oh, this is getting more exciting, don't you think?"

* * *

 _ _ **~Day 2~**__

So much for one day...Lunar and his secret was let out by sheer accidental coincidence. Now, all of Equestria could tell you what Prince Lunar was if you were to ask them. However, because he was now the first of his kind, things started getting a bit riskier with him. For example, Princess Celestia ordered a guard to travel to Twilight's castle to check on how Lunar was doing. After what has happened, it was safe to say that Princess Celestia wanted to take no chances and make sure nothing bad were to happen.

"Just make sure they're both alright," she told her guard.

"As you wish, Your Highness," He replied.

The guard, Flash Sentry, made his way towards Twilight's castle in Ponyville, only to be stopped by Discord himself. Flash, knowing very well that Discord was irrational, tried squeezing by him with little trouble, but Discord wouldn't allow it.

"What do you want, Discord?" mumbled Flash.

"Whaaaaat?" Discord smirked. "Can't I get some time to walk around by myself?"

Flash rolled his eyes, then excused himself to tend to his duty. Discord patted Flash on the back, complimenting him on his determination.

Flash grew uneasy. "Uhh...thanks."

"No problem at all." laughed Discord. He snapped his fingers and in an instant, caused Flash to disappear. He then proceeded to change his body in form in order to match that of Flash's, although he couldn't change his color.

"Drats..." snapped Discord. He looked around for a brief moment, then had orange paint come in from the ceiling to change his color. " _BLEH!_ I don't know what I've gotten myself into."

Colored orange from head to hoof, Discord set out for Ponyville, disguised as Flash Sentry, although nobody knew this just yet.

"No problem at all." He laughed again, voice slipping to match Flash's voice.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lunar and Twilight had woken up together as usual. Twilight looked over and started wrapping a hoof around Lunar's body, but Lunar moved away. Twilight looked shocked, asking him if anything was wrong.

Without looking at her, Lunar addressed Twilight seriously. "What you said yesterday."

Twilight looked down. "I know, and I didn't mean it, Luny..."

"But you said it," Lunar continued, still not looking at Twilight, "and that hurt me more than anything in the world."

"Lunar," cried Twilight, "I don't want to lose you...I love you more than anything in the world."

"Really," Lunar replied, "because, if I recall correctly, you loved my pony self, not my robot self."

"I love you for you, Lunar," Twilight sobbed.

Lunar looked away, trying his best to fight hypothetical crying. __I know you do, Twily,__ he thought.

Without saying else, the two ponies laid together in the bed, side-by-side. Silence trickled down into the room following Twilight's sobbing, but nothing else was spoken between the two of them.

* * *

A couple of hours had gone by since the morning dilemma. Both ponies had gotten out of bed and started performing their specific royal duties, but performed them separately rather than together, the way they always do it. A knock came on the front doors to the castle and was rather unexpected. Lunar, the pony who was near the door as the knock came, went to go open up the doors and greet whoever it was waiting on the outside.

 _ _I thought I opened those already.__ He thought, opening the doors up easily.

On the doorstep stood a guard, Flash Sentry. Lunar knew this particular guard well and knew his feelings towards Twilight. He stared into Flash's eyes and welcomed him into the castle.

"Thank you," responded Flash, entering the premises of the castle. Lunar closed the doors behind them, then faced Flash once more.

"So what brings you into Ponyville today, Flash?" Lunar asked.

Flash smiled, addressing Lunar formally. "Princess Celestia request that I come to assist both you and Princess Twilight, Your Majesty."

Lunar nodded, but was filled with questions. "Princess __Celestia__ sent you?"

Flash nodded. "The Princess did indeed send me."

Lunar scratched his metal chin. "But I thought you were Princess Cadance's guard."

Flash smirked. "A friendly guard exchange sent me to serve Princess Celestia instead."

"And you're here to assist Twilight and myself how?" asked Lunar.

"By making sure you're both more than fine." answered Flash.

Lunar wasn't buying this fiasco at all. To make sure Princess Celestia did indeed send Flash, he sent a letter with high importance to her, hoping that she was behind this. When the letter returned a few minutes later, Lunar found out that Princess Celestia had sent for Flash to accompany both himself and Twilight and was slightly uplifted in feeling.

Flash smirked, showing no signs of disarray to Lunar. "So where is Princess Twilight now?" He asked.

"Upstairs currently," Lunar said, walking towards her location, "I'll take you to her."

"Lead the way, Prince," Flash replied, smirking behind Lunar.

Lunar felt an odd chill roll down his spine, unsure if this situation was the cause of it. He continued moving towards Twilight with Flash right behind him. Moving finally upstairs, Flash tried attacking Lunar from his blindside, however, he did not know the newfound strength Lunar possessed. Lunar, unsure if Flash simply fell over, turned back and held him up with his electro-magic.

"You okay?" Lunar asked.

Embarrassed, Flash did not answer. Lunar took this the wrong way once his systems scanned Flash.

" _ _ALERT!__ _"_ Lunar's motherboard directed. " _ _Pony not real. Pony in disguise.__ "

"Disguise...?" repeated Lunar, looking closely at Flash.

Flash smirked. "Well I guess the cat's out of the bag!"

Levitating in the air, Flash revealed himself to who he truly was - Discord in disguise. Lunar backed away, then stood his ground strongly.

"What do you want?" Lunar snapped.

"For you to go away!" Discord yelled, snapping his fingers and causing smoke to appear around Lunar's body. Discord laughed maniacally as the smoke billowed around Lunar. "So long now! Bye bye! Time for the chaos to truly begin!"

Discord, still disguised as Flash, jumped onto Lunar, trying to knock him down. What Discord didn't know was that Lunar, in his current state, weighed nearly one ton. Discord found this out the hard way when he tried lifting Lunar, trying to slam him onto the ground.

"Can I help you?" an unamused Lunar asked, lifting Discord with his electro-magic.

Discord was embarrassed. "Why don't you move!?"

"Because he's fully metal, perhaps?" Twilight responded, walking down the stairs to see Flash trying to move Lunar under his own power. Twilight didn't know yet that Flash was really Discord in disguise. She looked at him sternly. "What are you doing?"

Discord panicked. "Uhh, n-nothing, Tw-err, Princess Twilight."

Twilight grew uneasy now. "You're not a guard, are you?"

"W-Why of course I am, Twilight," Discord responded.

"Then why are you being informal right now?" Lunar asked.

Discord gulped. "I, err..."

Twilight walked down from the stairs and moved next to Lunar. She rested a hoof along his back, smiling slightly. "A robot, my husband...did you really think that it would be easy to move him?"

"Maybe?" replied Discord. "I thought it would go unnoticed too."

Twilight looked boldly at Discord. "A six-and-a-half hoof mechanical colt, and no one would notice?"

Discord gulped again. He was growing even more nervous. Twilight looked deeply at him.

"You remind me a lot of Discord right now." She looked at his cutie mark. "Yeah, you're not Flash."

Discord rolled his eyes, then revealed himself. Thanks to the paint though, he was stuck as an orange draconequus. Twilight began laughing at the sight of an orange Discord.

"You're a tough nut to crack, my friend..." Discord admitted. He then looked at Lunar. "And you're a tough bolt to remove."

"Thanks, I guess," Lunar replied.

Discord smirked. "But don't think that you've won just yet. I'll be back!" He then snapped his fingers and disappeared from the castle.

Twilight shook her head slowly, then looked back at Lunar, smiling at him so.

"Thank you for helping, Twily." Lunar smiled.

"Anytime, Luny," replied Twilight, kissing Lunar on his metal lips.

"Still the best kisser alive." chuckled Lunar.

"And you're the best robot kisser alive." Twilight laughed.

Feud behind the both of them, Twilight and Lunar proceeded to finish their royal duties together.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the depths of Tartarus, Discord reappeared next to Tirek, making sure as to not alert Cerberus. Discord called for Tirek to remain quiet while he attempted to break him free. Tirek obliged, shockingly, as Discord went to work on the magic shackles. Discord found that breaking the spell on the shackles was a lot harder than imagined.

"What's taking so long?" Tirek impatiently asked.

"Pipe down," snapped Discord, "I'm working on it."

"Hurry up."

Discord, trying to break the spell on the shackles, saw that the magic aura around them was colored a pale yellow. He then remembered that this aura was the exact same as Princess Celestia's and chaotically made his magic almost reminiscent to hers. Although it wasn't a perfect match, somehow, Discord managed to break the shackles off of Tirek and teleport them both out of Tartarus, outside of Appleloosa.

"Ah, magic for mine to take." Tirek boomed.

"There you go," Discord responded, "I've held up my end of the deal, like I said I would."

"And I am truly grateful," Tirek smirked.

Discord frowned. "Funny...I remember what happened last time you said that to me."

"Relax," Tirek scoffed, "I won't harm you...you know what happened last time I did that."

"I know." Discord stated.

"Now," continued Tirek, "magic is calling my name."

"Wait!" Discord shouted. He contemplated about telling Tirek about Lunar.

"What is it?" Tirek asked in a snotty way.

Discord frowned. "Never mind...I forgot what it was."

Tirek grunted. "So be it then." He then left to go devour and steal the magic from the ponies across Equestria yet again.

Discord, on the other hand, started regretting his decision about letting Tirek know about Lunar. He started making his way home, trying his best to not get involved in any type of investigation the Princesses might enforce.

* * *

Meanwhile in Canterlot, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were both being swamped by royal duties. Delegates from the Changeling Empire, Griffonstone, Yakyakistan, and Saddle Arabia all came to Canterlot for a deputation upon border differentials and empire influences. Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were exhausted - they've been unable to sleep for quite some time now - and were not aware of what was happening just outside of Appleloosa. Princess Cadance, a trustee in the meeting, was asked to step outside for a moment by the real Flash Sentry.

"If you would excuse me for just a moment." Cadance politely said with a smile, leaving the room with Flash.

The doors shut behind them and Cadance was alarmed. She knew that Flash was supposed to be in Ponyville at the moment, and was shocked to find him standing in the castle hallway currently.

"What in Equestria are you doing here, Flash?" She asked. "You're supposed to be looking after Twilight and Lunar."

"About that," Flash exclaimed, then he started explaining what happened between him and Discord.

Cadance was most upset. "Where is Discord now?"

"I'm not sure," replied Flash, "but I have some more bad news."

"What is it?"

"Word from Tartarus has come saying that Tirek is on the loose again!" Flash spoke.

Cadance was a bit uneasy, but she knew about the shackles that made him weaker as he grew in size. "With those shackles, he shouldn't be able to get too far from there."

"That's just it," continued Flash, "the shackles were left behind! He's on the loose as a powerful and unguarded being!"

Cadance gulped, then looked at the doors, housing so many important figures behind them. "We have to let them know." She determined.

Moving towards the door, Princess Cadance was stopped by Discord. With a smirk, Discord began dragging Princess Cadance away.

"Not on my watch." He squirmed, knocking Flash out in the process.

* * *

Princess Cadance was being taken away by the evil chaos lord, Discord, to an undisclosed location. Princess Cadance, shouting out for help and assistance, was shut up by Discord and teleported away just before help came. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both shot out from the meeting room they were in and looked around to see nopony in sight. This left both of them uneasy and left Princess Celestia asking Princess Luna to see what happened to everyone.

"I shall find out, dear sister." Luna said, walking down one of the hallways.

Princess Celestia eyed her younger sister, then forced herself to go back into the room and complete the meeting with the delegates. Princess Luna, however, started coming across an eerie howling sound, despite windows being shut and no wind rustling about outside. Princess Luna, driven by determination, buckled up and pushed herself onward. What she didn't know was that the howling sounds came from Discord himself.

Discord followed Princess Luna all the way down the hallway from the ceiling. When Princess Luna turned a corner to find a number of guards had been beaten up, Discord jumped from the ceiling and attacked her with all of his might.

"Coward!" snapped Luna. "Thou hast betrayed us again!?"

Discord hushed Luna, but Luna wouldn't oblige to it.

"Traitor!" yelled Luna. "Thou art a __traitor!__ "

"Shut up!" Discord whispered heavily. "I am not a traitor!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!" Discord heeded. "I am here to alert you that-"

"Princess Luna," a rough voice laughed, "how unpleasant."

Luna gasped nervously. "Say it isn't-"

"Give me my possessions!"

Tirek barged into the castle and was greeted to Princess Luna being held captive on the ground. Princess Luna tried breaking free from Discord's grasp, but she was unable to do so. She thought that Discord and Tirek were, once again, teaming up to end Equestria, but Discord was actually frozen out of fear. He hadn't realized how much time had passed between Tirek's freeing and now. Tirek brushed the frozen draconequus aside and levitated Luna. He smirked evilly, proceeding to steal her magic from her.

"All mine." Tirek boomed, dropping a tired Luna to the ground. Tirek wasn't alert, but his booming voice echoed around the castle and somehow managed to find Princess Celestia's ears through the doors.

Princess Celestia gasped, knowing that there wasn't a lot of time left before Tirek barged in again like he did last time. The other delegates noticed this.

"Is everything alright?" The changeling delegate asked.

"We have to leave now." Princess Celestia informed. "There is an emergency and not a lot of time."

"What's going on?" The griffon delegate added.

"I'll explain later," answered Princess Celestia, "but now we have to get going."

"Oh, leaving so soon?" Came a sinister voice, Tirek's voice. "Didn't your mother and father teach you that it isn't polite to leave so abruptly?"

Princess Celestia frowned. "Didn't __your__ parents tell you that it's impolite to take things that don't belong to you?"

Tirek smirked slyly. "I have __no__ parents!" He then went on to steal Princess Celestia's magic while the other delegates tried helping her out.

"You shall pay!" The griffon delegate yelled, clawing Tirek in the process.

Tirek laughed. "Is he friend or is he foe, the small one wonders," he then towered over the griffon, "I assure you, I am no friend." Tirek then slammed the griffon delegate to the ground, on top of the other delegates. He then proceeded to pick them all up at the same time.

"You won't get away with this, you monster." The changeling delegate coughed.

"Give my regards to that mutt." Tirek said, sending the delegates away.

Discord was watching onwards from a distance. He felt bad for the others about what was happening all over again. He left the room and went searching for Lunar to see if he could do anything about this.

* * *

"It's finally done," Lunar smiled, "it's all done."

"Thanks to you," Twilight replied, "I don't think I would've been able to lift that beam even with my magic."

"I try my hardest," Lunar admitted, "only for you."

"Aww..." giggled Twilight, blushing as well, "you're too sweet."

"Not as sweet as you are." Lunar smirked.

The two alicorns were performing renovations on a few corroded and battered castle beams at the moment. Lunar just lifted the very last beam into place and had it installed perfectly with no wear and tear on it at all. When they finished their work, they each took a step back and admired all that they had done together.

"I'm glad you gave me a second chance." Twilight admitted.

"Well," Lunar replied, "you gave me one. It's only fair that I return the favor."

The moment between the two alicorns was broken up by a teleporting Discord. Lunar eyed him severely, but saw that something wasn't right with him. Speaking past his eyes, Lunar asked Discord what the matter was.

"Oh, Lunar," Discord started, "am I glad to see you right now." He turned to Twilight, studied her closely, then returned back to Lunar. "Has he come yet?"

"Who?" Lunar wondered.

"Tirek."

"Again?" shouted Twilight.

Discord nodded. "He's already stolen Princess Luna's magic...I cannot imagine that Princess Celestia still has her magic."

"Where is he-"

" _ ** _ **PRINCESS TWILIGHT!**_**_ "

"He's here!" Discord quivered.

" _ ** _ **GIVE ME MY MAGIC, OR YOU SHALL PERISH!**_**_ _ **"**_

"How strong is he?" Lunar snapped at Discord.

Tirek, now a seemingly unstoppable giant, stood outside Twilight's castle. He banged on the side of it, creating a small cavern and causing the castle to shake, rumble, and vibrate irrationally. Twilight looked out the window and saw a crystal beam fall past her view and down to the ground. Tirek smiled, banging on the other side of the castle and causing the same actions to occur on the opposite side.

Twilight teleported herself outside and stared at Tirek. Tirek stopped his banging and stared at Twilight, towering over her greatly. He smiled, then demanded that Lunar step outside as well.

"Why should he?" Twilight questioned.

"Because he has something that I want!" Tirek boomed.

"You killed him!" Twilight yelled out.

"You're mistaken, Princess," Tirek laughed, "I did not kill him!"

Lunar stepped outside and stared at Tirek with determination. "This is where you'll pay for what you've done."

Tirek pounded the ground. "Here's where the line finally comes to an end, puny pony."

"Bring it on!" Lunar threatened, preparing for an all-out war.

When standing up against Tirek, Lunar looked as determined as can be in his eyes. Tirek, on the other hand, was laughing at Lunar, claiming that it was no use to try to defeat him.

"You're a puny pony," He sniggered, "What good can you do against me?"

"You're about to find out!" Lunar yelled, blasting off into the sky.

Tirek rolled his eyes, then grabbed Lunar on his ascent upward. Lunar was scared, but he insisted that the fight was not over quite just yet.

"Have you seen where you are right now?" Tirek tormented. "You have nowhere to run."

"Not on my watch!" snapped Lunar. He then began using his increased strength to pry himself free from Tirek's grasp.

Tirek was alarmed. "A valiant effort, pony, but allow me to finish you off." He attempted to grab Lunar again.

Lunar, smart and inquisitive, determined the trajectory of Tirek's hand and flew safely around it, punching him in his jaw. Tirek felt the pain, but didn't make it seem that obvious. He angrily looked at Lunar and swatted him away like a fly.

Lunar was dizzy, being sent away in a tumbling sort of way. He straightened himself out, then flew at lightning speed back at Tirek, piercing his skin with his metal gliders. Unfortunately for Lunar, that damaged his wing and forced him to fly with more power from his right side.

Tirek yelled out, smacking and slamming Lunar into the ground while he wasn't looking. Lunar's systems started malfunctioning and started resetting and locking themselves, much like how a spring lock locks. He stared at Tirek, whom was towering over himself, and tried fighting back some more.

Tirek laughed. "Pitiful pony...that's the best you can do?" Tirek bent down and picked Lunar up. "Now let me show you what it feels like to die."

"Lunar!" cried out Twilight. The fight had roamed away from her and she only just now managed to catch up.

Tirek laughed even more. "Watch, Princess, as he slowly succumbs to death!"

"Don't you dare!" Twilight cried, flying up as fast as she could.

Tirek smirked, allowing Twilight to ascend to him. When the time came, Tirek took both of his hands and literally ripped Lunar's body into two halves. Lunar couldn't react to it in time; his systems had forced them to go into an offline mode. Twilight saw Lunar's body get ripped in half and stopped sharp in her tracks. As Tirek dropped Lunar's body, part of the ripped and shredded wires and chips cascaded around and hit Twilight on the way down. She fell silent and then stared at Tirek, heartbroken and all. To Twilight, it was almost as if Tirek took her heart and also ripped it in half.

Tirek smirked. "Oops."

Twilight was appalled. She watched Lunar's body hit the ground hard and then stared at it. At that moment, something inside Twilight had snapped. She couldn't really explain it, but she was going to make sure that Tirek paid for all the damage he was responsible for over the years. She angrily flew up to this face and blasted him with some of her dark magic; magic she has never used before to fight.

Tirek was shocked at the fact that Twilight attacked with dark Magic and tried swatting swatting her away, but but to no avail. Twilight maneuvered around Tirek and blasted him again with an even stronger beam of dark magic. In an odd way, the dark magic was working, helping reduce Tirek's size and strength. After another direct hit from Twilight's dark magic, he was now half the size he once was.

Discord, as well as Princess Luna, all looked onward as they saw Twilight unleash her bent-up anger. The two of them were feeling mixed emotions right now. For one, they were both happy that Tirek was being dealt with in some sort of manner. For another, they also felt that, even though Tirek might be defeated, they may have a new problem in Twilight.

Twilight continued pounding Tirek with her dark magic and eventually managed to get Tirek down to a size smaller than he originally was. She towered over him and pointed at Lunar's ripped body. Finishing off with one final punch to the face, Twilight slammed Tirek to the ground.

"That's for everything you've done!" She yelled at him, eyes flaring red with anger.

Tirek looked back, smirking happily, even as he knew he lost. However, he knew that he had won considering the fact that one pony's casualty came as well. He knew this would send Twilight off the deep end and laughed at her. Twilight ran over and was just about ready to annihilate Tirek even more, but was soon stopped by Princess Luna and Discord.

"Princess Twilight!" Luna called.

"Stop, Twilight!" Discord added, holding Twilight back with Luna.

Twilight turned to Discord and tried to attack him. " _ _YOU!__ This is all __your__ fault!" She tried to hit him with her magic, but learned that she was deemed powerless under Luna's grasp.

Discord was shocked. " _ _ME!?__ What did __I__ do?"

"You let him out!" snapped Twilight, referring to freeing Tirek.

"Come along, Princess Twilight," Luna said, trying to pull Twilight away, "Come on..."

Twilight managed to break free from Luna's grasp and tackled Discord to the ground hard. She threatened that he fix Lunar, or else.

"Or else what?" A snide Discord responded.

"Or I'll have your head!" Twilight shouted.

"Princess Twilight," Luna angrily called, "That's enough!"

She started dragging Twilight away, trying to find a place to calm her down. Twilight kept on resisting and insisting that she'll stay true to her words unless Lunar is fixed.

"I'll have your head if he dies!" Twilight yelled.

Discord gulped, then looked at Lunar's body. He wondered if Lunar could even be saved at this point. Most of his body was ripped up and a lot of parts, chips, boards, and wires were missing. Discord slouched down in the air and started to pay his dues.

"I'm sorry..." He said.

* * *

"Princess Twilight!" grunted Luna, dragging an agitated Twilight into her room.

"Let me go!" She yelled, trying to break free of Luna's magical grasp.

"Calm down!" Luna panted, trying to help defuse Twilight's mood.

"What's going on here?" asked a voice.

Luna turned her head and saw that it was her older sister, Princess Celestia, whom the voice belonged to. Princess Celestia walked into the room and noticed Princess Luna struggling to contain Twilight. She aided her younger sister, but Twilight's magic was evolving at a rate that surpassed her mentor and friends.

"Let go!" Twilight screeched, breaking free from both Luna's and Celestia's grasp.

Twilight managed to break free from their grasps and sent them both flying backwards towards the other end of her room. Celestia looked at her former star student and shed a tear. She knew that Twilight was spiraling out of control and time was running out for saving her from a terrible fate. While Twilight blasted her way out of her own room, destroying everything that was in her way, Princess Celestia looked over towards Princess Luna sternly, asking her what caused Twilight to break like this.

"Sister," Princess Luna mumbled, looking down.

"What happened to Twilight?" Princess Celestia asked again.

Princess Luna sighed, but refused to look at her older sister. "It has something to do with Prince Lunar and Discord, sister."

"What happened?" Princess Celestia said.

"We have evidence to believe that Discord freed Tirek from Tartarus and came here to try to end Prince Lunar." Princess Luna explained.

"How could that be?"

"We are not sure," answered Princess Luna, "but when Tirek came to steal Princess Twilight's magic, he engaged in combat with Prince Lunar. It wasn't a quick fight, but it did result in Prince Lunar to...to..."

"To what?"

Princess Luna started crying. She didn't really answer Princess Celestia's question, but Princess Celestia started to understand. She didn't say anything in response, but she thought to herself that something catastrophic happened to her younger sister's star pupil. As Princess Luna mourned over the loss of Lunar Nights, Princess Celestia comforted her as best as she possibly could.

Discord, eavesdropping from the hallway, felt his heart sink as he started feeling regret and guilt for everything that has happened. He knew that gaining trust was a difficult thing - just ask Sunset Shimmer - and felt as if he was now traveling backwards down that path. He looked for Lunar's body again and tried to see if there was anything that could be done.

* * *

Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle was becoming more and more of a corrupt pony, falling to the likes of dark magic. Dealing with a broken heart, she felt her anger enpower her further and lost all sense of thinking and reason within herself. She began attacking innocent ponies and shelters, destroying everything in her path yet again. She smirked evilly as homes were destroyed and ponies ran for their lives, running from a pony they all thought they knew very well.

Princess Celestia, watching from the castle window, sighed heavily as she witnessed everything that Twilight was conducting. She knew that this was the result of bottled-up anger and emotions and that Lunar's death was the bursting moment. Princess Luna watched as well as the pony who fought to fight for everything she stood for was now turning on her own subjects. Something had to be done - and quickly - but the two princesses couldn't do anything themselves, even though they were very powerful; their conscience forbade them from hurting a close family member.

Princess Celestia turned away as she saw the Wonderbolts fly in in an attempt to stop Twilight's wrath. Princess Luna joined her, not wanting to witness the Wonderbolts inevitable outcome against a powerful pony that is Twilight.

* * *

Back outside, Discord ran to Lunar's body and grabbed everything that he could - the body, wires, screws, chips, you name it. He tried grabbing more, but was limited as to what he could hold. He ran around frantically, trying to find a pony who could help save the wounded Prince, but couldn't find anyone over the destruction Twilight was causing.

Mere moments away from giving up hope, Discord got the idea that he could help revive Lunar himself. The only problem he came across however, was that his magic wasn't strong enough to help the cause. He thought of asking Twilight, but knew that he was the last being she wanted to see at this time, so he ended up going back inside her castle, looking for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

He ran inside as fast as he could, unfortunately dropping a few bits and pieces of Lunar along he way. He yelled out Celestia's and Luna's names, hoping to get their attentions, wherever they were now.

Princess Celestia heard the call and stepped out of the room through the destroyed doorway. She saw Discord running up with Lunar's body and covered her mouth with her hoof. She figured Lunar was beaten up heavily, but didn't figure that he would literally be ripped in half. Discord stopped in front of Princess Celestia and asked for her help. Princess Celestia looked at him awkwardly.

"What can I do to help you?" She wondered.

"Both you and Princess Luna need to trust me on this one." Discord replied.

Princess Luna walked out into the hallway, joining her older sister. "And __why__ should we trust you?"

"Because," continued Discord, "we are going to try to revive Lunar."

"Revive him?" Celestia asked. She seemed very skeptical about the idea.

"There isn't a lot of time," claimed Discord, "and my magic isn't strong enough to do this on my own."

"We cannot revive a robot." Luna spoke.

"We can try." Discord insisted, listening to the ponies and destruction going on outside. He sighed, "It's one of the few things we can do if we want to stop this from escalating into something worse."

Princess Celestia, still skeptical about the idea, decided to give it a try. She wanted to at least attempt something before having to resort to drastic measures for Twilight, so this was her only attempt.

The three characters were going to rebuild and revive Lunar Nights.

* * *

With nothing else to lose, Discord, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna all started working hard on the reconstruction of Lunar Nights. There was just one particular problem, and that was that none of them knew how to start the process. Completely winging it, they all laid Lunar's body to rest on a table in the middle of the main room and started separating the damaged chips and parts from the good set.

When all was done and everything that could be removed was taken away, Lunar's body was left in a mostly hollow and empty shell. Discord wiped some sweat away from his forehead and looked towards Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

"Whatever it takes," he said, "we have to do whatever it takes."

The two princesses nodded as work began on Lunar Nights, hoping to revive him and stop Twilight Sparkle's wrath on Equestria.

* * *

"Breaking news out of Ponyville! Princess Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship, is currently destroying the homes of hundreds of innocent ponies in Ponyville. This is all just moments after the Tirek incident from earlier today. Our sources say that this is all a result of Prince Lunar Nights, the robotic android we spoke to earlier in the week and the husband to Princes Twilight, being badly injured in his fight with the diabolical villain Lord Tirek.

"According to our sources, after the fight with Lord Tirek, the Prince was unresponsive and passed out. He was taken away by the lord of chaos himself, Discord, as well as Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. We aren't sure at this current moment if the Prince has awoken or if he is even responsive, but our guess is that, should he be awoken, Princess Twilight's rampage on Ponyville should stop but-...what was that?

"New this moment, as more information continues to pour into the studio, we are now learning that Princess Twilight Sparkle is under a corruption spell as a result from Lord Tirek's doing. She has been consumed by the clutches of dark magic, some of the most powerful magic in all of ponydom.

"For those who do not know, unicorns and alicorns possess dark magic that is only found deep within themselves. Dark magic can be accessed by them, but if too much dark magic is used over a short time period, ponies will fall to the likes of it, as if they were consumed by said dark magic. One pony known for such dark magic was the dreaded King Sombra, the former king of the Crystal Empire.

"These are live pictures from Ponyville, Equestria of the wrath of Princess Twilight Sparkle, under the control of dark magic. The Wonderbolts were deployed and were en route to the location, but were pummeled to the ground by Princess Twilight's powerful dark magic spell. At this time, we are not sure of the safety of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, nor do we know where they are. We are also unsure of Prince Lunar Nights' health or-...would you look at that! What is that?"

* * *

Twilight continued her wrath on her own kingdom, blasting so many buildings, homes, and nearby landmarks to pieces. She felt no emotion other than joy in seeing the homes of everyone she knew get destroyed and blasted into small pieces of rubble. She laughed evilly, destroying the town hall with a powerful beam of dark magic, sending pieces of debris flying towards nearby homes. She stopped to admire the work she had done and laughed some more.

"Understand that nopony can stop me!" She smirked, slamming another home with dark magic.

Behind her was a sonicboom. The sonicboom hit Twilight hard and caused her to momentarily lose her balance. She turned around rapidly once she regained her balance and was tackled greatly. However, this tackle was not one for dealing damage; it was actually one out of emotion.

Twilight glanced down and saw who it was that tackled her and stopped sharp in her tracks. She gasped, looking into their eyes.

"No...can it be?" She wondered. She began to feel her heart repair itself, so to speak. "L-L-Lunar...?"

He looked into her eyes and kissed her cheek. "Please...stop this madness." He kissed her again. "For me...?"

Twilight's eyes stopped glowing. Sense had returned to her as she glanced around to see what she had done. She stopped her eyes on Lunar and tightly hugged him, crying and sobbing on his shoulder.

Lunar smirked, slightly short-circuiting because of Twilight's tears, but he didn't mind it. He hugged Twilight as tightly as she did and stroked her mane slowly. He calmed her down and successfully managed to stop Twilight's wrath from getting out of control.

From a distance, an exhausted Discord, Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia all watched onward as their plan came into fruition. They all breathed long sighs of relief and watched happily as Lunar and Twilight continued hugging lovingly in the air. Discord then began to walk away from Luna and Celestia, thanking them for their help.

"Why thank us?" Princes Celestia asked.

"Because I now understand what it means to trust someone and live with that trust." Discord explained. "I see that it is a wonderful feeling in the world to have and I wish to find that trust myself."

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both smiled happily, positioning themselves on opposite sides of Discord. Wrapping one wing around Discord, Princess Celestia smiled at him brightly.

"I am glad to hear that from you, Discord," she explained, "and I cannot wait to see how you learn to enforce that kind of trust in your life."

Princess Luna giggled, prompting Discord to ask her what was so funny.

"Well, Discord," she began, "there's just one little thing we ask from you."

"Oh?" Discord replied. "And what might that be?"

Princess Luna, still smiling, and Princess Celestia both used their magic to hand over a broom and a dustpan to Discord. Laughing, they explained everything to him.

"Because you were the one to free Tirek," Luna began.

"It is your job to clean up everything that happened as a result," finished Celestia.

"Oh poo..." Discord grunted, setting out to work.


	6. The Curse of a Blessing

_**The Curse of a Blessing**_

As I watch the moon slowly rise through the sky, I see it pierce the dually colored horizon and conquer it as one true color. This moon is like I am and, to be honest, I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse. Everything in the galaxy far beyond our reach is like I am, or so it seems. I know that stars collapse within themselves and either form newer stars or just die completely. I am like the latter of the two options. All my life, I have loathed this...this curse of mine. Others call it a blessing, but they don't understand it.

Boldly stated, I am an immortal, a being that never dies. I am over a thousand years old and have seen my friends and family, with the exception of another close to heart, have all been long dead and left us both alone to continue our lives. They were the ones that have told us that our immortality was a blessing, but we consider it to be a curse. A curse, not only because we can't experience true pain and suffering, but because those that get close to us end up leaving us within years to come.

Myself, you ask? I have given up on certain emotions, such as love and eternal happiness. Love because the other will leave me eventually and eternal happiness because of this long-lasting curse of ours.

As for her, she has undergone certain changes. She was always known as the emotional one while we were growing up together. She was the one to let emotions get the better of her, which eventually led to her momentary collapse. That was harsh, even for me. At that point, I never had the experience of living on my own. That was very tough for me.

I had to find a new hobby in order to pass my time by without a loving sister to share it with. I focused on the school nearby and paid more attention to those that attended it. I've seen students come and students go, either by graduation, abandonment, or flunking out. This school is a prestigious school, so failing is not an option.

Eventually, I met a student who I saw so much potential in. I thought that they would succeed and make the world a better place, but I couldn't have been any more wrong. Just when I thought she would turn and focus more on her studies, she abandoned them and traveled elsewhere to pursue a dream that could not be seen through her uncertainty and cold heart.

As time went by, I began thinking about my long lost sister. At this point, it has been almost a thousand years since I've last seen her and it only now starts to take its toll on me. The moon every night reminds me of her and I always catch myself saying that she will return one day. That day is hopefully soon.

Eventually, there came this one student that enrolled at the school at such a young age. When I got the chance to see this student, just one glimpse at her reminded me of my sister and I when we were that age: playful, energetic, kind, dedicated, and bright. I decided to personally teach her and make sure that she goes down the right path in this new life she began to embark upon.

As she grew older, she began studying more, which prompted her to refrain from social interaction. When I concluded that my long lost sister was returning to our land, it was my job to set up a preparation ceremony for not only that, but for the summer solstice and the celebration for the longest day of the year. This celebration has been dubbed as the "Summer Sun Celebration" and is one of two celebrations this land shares hosting privileges, the other one being the "Winter Moon Celebration," which happens on the winter solstice; the longest night of the year.

It normally is my job to make sure that the preparations are all fine and going according to plan, but for this particular one, I sent my best student to handle them and, hopefully, handle social life fine for the first time. She left via chariot, to which I arranged, and made her way to survey the preparations and make sure that everything was all according to plan and running smoothly.

When it was time for the celebration, I was greeted by my sister just as I was supposed to reveal myself to the land and bring in the summer solstice, but something seemed...off about her.

Her emotions, once again, took her over and she used her power to send me away and lock me up in the cells beneath our home. Those cells were almost never visited and I didn't know my way out. It was a literal maze inside this area and everywhere I went seemed to lead to another dead end. How ironic; an immortal coming to terms with a path that leads to a wall. Eventually, I made it out of the cells and went to deal with my sister, but when I finally got to where she was, it was all over.

I looked to my right and saw that my greatest student and a few others had on certain charms that I once wore: The Elements of Harmony. I knew that I made a great decision when I opted to teach her personally. I looked to my left and saw my sister before her emotions overtook her life. She was weak and needed rest, but we hugged for the first time in a long time. I cried, as did she and we celebrated her return as well as the summer solstice.

A few years later, it would come to my attention that my niece and her special one would become engaged and would marry very shortly. I decided to hold the marriage ceremony in our home, the most prestigious honor for anyone, really. This was the most amusing part: the soon-to-be husband to my niece was none other than my star student's older brother. Call it a coincidence if you must, but when I heard the news, I was thrilled not only to have a nephew-in-law, but also a niece-in-law in my star student.

When the wedding preparations went under way however, I saw my star student begin to develop these strange emotions. It was almost as if she didn't approve of the wedding between my niece and her brother. I was horrified by her actions and accusing my niece of being a diabolical villain and trying to halt the wedding ceremony.

But the killer of it all was that she was right. On the day of the wedding, she arrived in the hall with an exact replica of my niece, but this one seemed to be beaten up somewhat. I was shocked to find out that this doppelgänger was my actual niece and the one standing in front of me was the fake; she was the queen of evil beings that need love in order to thrive. She was strong, stronger than me and even stronger than my star student and her friends - granted she outnumbered all of us, but still.

It wasn't until she had her back turned and my niece - my actual one - combined her love with her soon-to-be husband and overwhelmed the queen, sending her far, far away, which was extremely ironic if you ask me. One that thrives on love was defeated...by love.

After the wedding ceremony, I sent my niece and her new husband to overlook the new empire that revealed itself once more. It was weird for me because I remember when it disappeared. I felt so much disarray when I witnessed all the citizens of the empire lose their lives after being cursed for a thousand years...but I should say I feel so much disarray about myself. They were lost for a thousand years; I am living for longer. Their curse does not come close to my sister's curse and my own.

When I sent my star pupil and niece-in-law over to help my niece and her husband, I sent her with her friends and expected nothing short of achievement. They were able to deliver achievement, courtesy of my pupil's assistant and my niece safely guiding the empire's prescious artifact to where it needed to be.

My best student was able to do a lot of great things in her short life, and still is doing great things. She was able to help reform a formidable opponent, proved her well being, helped save an entire land, and prevailed through doubt. I knew when I gave her that special book that I was making a wise choice. I knew she could finish it. After all, he couldn't finish it...I should know it. He never really showed it to another besides me all those years ago.

Not even a day later was she able to complete it and, upon the completion, I took her to a private area that only we inhabited and congratulated her on her accomplishments. She was befuddled, probably because she didn't understand just yet what she had done. I explained to her what she did and smiled at her, letting her know that she has achieved greatness and is now ready for the next step in her studies. I gave her a little gift for achievement - a set of wings - and met her alongside her friends, letting her know what she did and what's to come as a ruler; a princess.

I set up a coronation ceremony to celebrate her and reveal her to the citizens of this land and crowned her there. It was an uplifting ceremony and made me very proud of what I once had with her as my student. It was a fun ride, but her life as a student had come to an end and her life as a leader and princess had begun.

She left for her home and continued doing what she did and helping out others. As for myself, I returned to a sense of normalcy with my sister for the first time in a very, very long time. Everything was fine and nothing sparked an arguement. Even as the national games approached us, everything seemed to be going like clockwork, even though there was a small blemish towards the end of the games, but nothing more.

I honestly look at this time period of the last few years as the best years of my life. Being reunited with my long lost sister, finding and being proud of a student so successful in life, watching my niece marry the love of her life...these are all events that have made me happy like the light coming from the sun. However, all good things must come to an end.

When I felt the presence of a terrible evil return to my land, I opted to keep my star student safe and I sent another one to help out, but it turned out that he would betray us all and join forces with the evil, helping him drain the land of prescious items - magic.

After the evil took our thrones away from us, locking us all up in Tartarus. The time spent there was awful and it smelled horribly. Cerberus was too busy guarding a cell that was empty and my sister and niece looked as if they would collapse from exhaustion at any point. I didn't blame them because I felt like doing the same.

We spent quite some time being locked up before the chains magically disappeared. I was shocked, but when the magic I originally gave up to my star student came back to me - and my sister's and niece's magic did the same - I knew that she accomplished her dreadful and life-changing task and returned harmony to the land. After those events had come to a close, the land the Elements of Harmony had now occupied rewarded her with a castle of her own.

Nowadays, I sit here in this castle with my sister and just perform my royal duties of the day. It slowly passes the day, but I know that I have done well in accomplishing what it was that I originally wanted. However, I cannot get it passed me that my immortality will keep me from dying happily. I am now over three thousand years old and hate that I cannot die. Granted, if I weren't an immortal, I never would have taught my star student. Those few years of teaching her were possibly the best years I've ever had...but now it's all over.

I now watch my little sister as she tries her best to be like me. She too has a star student, who ironically has almost the exact same name as her. She sent him to learn from my star student and learn the ways of friendship. She always tells me of his accomplishments - years and years of great achievements. It pleases me as it reminds me of all the accomplishments my star student achieved while she was under my tutelage.

When it came time to see her student, I found that he had successfully achieved the same thing my star student has. He has earned his wings as well and achieved the title of prince after years and years of studying. I am happy that my sister has this sort of happiness in her life now. It brings joy to me to know that she is happy with what she is doing.

As time flew past us both, both my sister and I saw plenty of citizens come and go, completeing their cycles of life. But here we were, living...and not dying. Years more go by and it's now time for suffering.

My sister's star student, the newest prince of the land, has become corrupted and is now suffering the same fate my sister once suffered. He had to be banished like my sister because of his emotions taking him over. A few more years, nearly twenty years later, my nephew-in-law had suffered a terrible heart attack and died. My niece and star student were both heartbroken and we suffered yet another scare as my star student nearly caved in to her emotions, but she was able to shut down any and all negative feedback over time.

About thirty more years later, the original Element of Harmony holders and her dearest of friends had started dying one-by-one. These deaths should have sent her into a collapsing spire and a falling star, but those did not happen, even after the last one - honesty - passed away.

I felt bad for her because she knew she would never see them again. Plus, I began wondering if my greatest gift to her would also be her greatest curse. I made her what she is and crafted her as best as I could, but as fate tells it, I crafted a mini me into her, making her immortal as well and doing things that I once did.

This is a curse, being immortal. There is no blessing in this at all. We see our loved ones go on and complete their lives all the time. It's especially hard on my star student because as the princess of friendship, she must connect to the citizens in a way that the rest of us does not. My niece may be the princess of love, but that is something slightly less than that of friendship because without friendship, there can be no love.

It is tough living in an eternal state; being the same exact age for four, five thousand years is not something to be proud of. My greatest friends all died thousands of suns ago and my family - our family - immediately followed. There isn't a day that goes by that I never think of them...the two that my sister and I once called mom and dad. Queen and King of this land...that is why neither my sister nor I will ever become a queen - out of respect for our parents.

I miss them very much. It's been thousands of years since they walked along the same land we walk along today. My sister feels the same way, I can tell. I remember her saying that Daddy was her favorite.

Daddy was the King of the Night, a title that no one else takes away. Mommy - my favorite - was the Queen of the Day, a title I rightfully did not take out of respect. They were the ones that taught us how to bring in each and every day and each and every night. They were very passionate in what they once did. I try my best to follow their roles and advice, as does my sister, but we will never replicate the greatest rulers this land once had.

Mommy and Daddy...haven't said those two words in a long time. It feels empty saying them now; we haven't seen them since we were about five or six years of age. That was the last time either of us saw our parents. It's been so long. It breaks my heart just thinking about them and knowing that my star student experienced those same events herself breaks my heart even further.

Every citizen claims that I am the toughest and strongest ruler they've ever experienced, but I would like to beg to differ. My sister claims that I am the strongest one in the land and that nothing can stand up to me, but I don't think that at all. In my eyes, I am a weak ruler because I repeat my same mistakes. I broke the hearts of my remaining family members because they saw their friends and families die off. A noble leader would not have let that happen. A noble leader would have saved either all or none of them.

I am not a great leader. I am not a strong leader. I am a weak leader.

I am Celestia and immortality is the world's greatest curse.


	7. MLP:EG: Friendship Games: Alumni Edition

_**My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Friendship Games: Alumni Edition**_

* * *

"Great work today, Midnight Dweller. I look forward to seeing you again next Monday."

"Thank you, Mrs. Shimmer." Midnight Dweller replied, hugging the kind, intelligent adult. He turned and started running out the room playfully. "Have a good weekend!"

"You too, Midnight!" The lovely adult responded back.

She watched onward as the hyper boy left her office for his next class. She was content at the moment and remembered when she herself was at that stage where she was eager to learn new and exciting things. Coupled with a few bumps along the road, she'll never forget the path that was taken in order to get here. She brushed back her long, flowing red-and-yellow hair and gazed out the clear windows and into the hallway, smiling brightly. The hallway was filled with hundreds of students, going back and forth, trying to get to their next class on time. This was her off period, so she waited until the hallway was clear before she started moving out into it.

Canterlot High School has remained the same to her, Mrs. Shimmer, since she left eight years ago. She was excited to graduate with her good friends, but often times wondered what they did now. They hadn't really stayed greatly in touch after graduating from college and she wondered what they did now, where they worked, and how they were all doing. She remembered back to when she was a senior in this school and how much of a good time she had with her friends then. Then college came and, slowly but surely, the gap between each of them was starting to form.

She herself went to the local college in the city, driving to and from it every week. As for her friends, most of them stayed locally, except for Ms. Dash, the athletic coordinator for CHS. Ms. Dash went away for college, going to a private, prestigious university on an athletic scholarship. Her playing career was about to take off, but when a tragic event happened to her while she was on the playing field, she never went back to it like she once did. It took a lot out of her - her father passing away and her not being able to get back in time to say goodbye - and she vowed that she'll never go professional if it meant that her friends and family couldn't travel with her.

Mrs. Shimmer was going to meet Ms. Dash in the faculty lounge for their lunch. This was something that they always did together. They always loved eating lunch together and always remembered all the good times they both had with the rest of the gang while walking down the same hallways years before these students did. They remembered events like defeating the sirens together, the Friendship Games, and what brought them all together in the first place.

Mrs. Shimmer entered the faculty lounge and made her way towards the refrigerator and opened it up. Inside the refrigerator was a salad, a strawberry lemonade, a wrapped up sandwich, and some yogurt with a plastic spoon. Mrs. Shimmer took the salad and strawberry lemonade, both of which were hers, and sat down at the table in the middle of the room. Ms. Cheerilee was sitting down at the same table on the opposite end to Mrs. Shimmer and smiled and waved at her. Mrs. Shimmer waved back and politely started a conversation with Ms. Cheerilee, one of her former teachers.

"How's everything going today, Cheerilee?" Mrs. Shimmer asked, taking a sip of her strawberry lemonade.

"It was a rough start," answered Ms. Cheerilee, "but it picked back up after third period."

"What happened this morning?"

"Grading happened, Sunset." Ms. Cheerliee chuckled.

"I see," smiled Mrs. Shimmer.

Ms. Cheerilee rose from her seat and started to head out of the lounge. She told Mrs. Shimmer that she had to get back to the grading and was going to need all the time she could get. Mrs. Shimmer understood and playfully wished Ms. Cheerliee good luck in her grading. After thanking her, Ms. Cheerliee then left the lounge and left Mrs. Shimmer alone, but only for a brief period of time.

Ms. Dash, Mrs. Shimmer's long-time friend, had entered into the lounge and greeted Mrs. Shimmer with a smile and a hug. She then went to the refrigerator and grabbed the wrapped sandwich, which was hers, and sat down next to Mrs. Shimmer. She started to tell her about her day and how she feels that CHS's athletic teams might be a threat this year.

"Are they all that good?" Mrs. Shimmer asked.

"They're better than good, Sunset," Ms. Dash replied, "they're awesome!"

Mrs. Shimmer laughed lightly. "Of course they are, Dash. Hehe."

Ms. Dash smirked in response, then proceeded to change the subject. She switched it to the upcoming Friendship Games against their longtime rivals, Crystal Prep Academy. When Mrs. Shimmer and Ms. Dash last participated in the games, the result was a tie, but in an unconventional way. They both knew what happened - Twilight Sparkle, playing in the games for Crystal Prep, wreaked havoc on the playing field after falling to magic that she released herself - but they wanted to look to having their students beat the prestigious academy students this time around.

Ever since Mrs. Shimmer and Ms. Dash played the games, Crystal Prep's reputation has somewhat taken a hit and started disappearing. Principal Cinch, the principal for Crystal Prep, was seen as an insane lunatic after claiming that Canterlot High School had students with wings, attack plants, and, most of all, a talking dog in the center courtyard and, because of those claims, Crystal Prep was seen as a school where the results weren't as always as they thought, even though they technically were, especially with their Top 12 students.

The Friendship Games were set to begin on Friday and the students around CHS knew very well as well. Students were set up, chanting "Wondercolts, Wondercolts" all around the school, and were getting their school pride up in the process. Mrs. Shimmer and Ms. Dash were excited for the Friendship Games as well and were excited to see what Principal Celestia had to say about the games in the faculty meeting after school today.

Mrs. Shimmer and Ms. Dash talked more about the Friendship Games and remembered some more memories before switching the topic yet again. This time, they talked about memories with their old friends and all that they did as teenagers. They remembered what they did for their graduation, what they did on prom night, and even what they did when they all started college. They remembered the last day they saw Ms. Dash before she left for college away on the other side of the country. It was definitely a tough moment for all seven of them, but it was done only because Ms. Dash chose to do that. After reliving those memories for some time, both Mrs. Shimmer and Ms. Dash sat together in silence for the remainder of the period.

* * *

That afternoon, Mrs. Shimmer made her way toward the faculty lounge for the faculty meeting. The day had concluded for about twenty minutes at this time and most students were gone for the day. The only students that remained on campus were those that were in the band, practicing for the Friendship Games, the athletes, and members of certain clubs that were asked to help prepare the school for the games again. When Mrs. Shimmer arrived at the faculty lounge, she noticed that it was nearly a full room. Only a few teachers and faculty members were missing from the room mainly because either they were helping prepare the school or because they were advisors for the groups they were in now. Mrs. Shimmer noticed that Ms. Dash was absent from the room and assumed that she was out on the field running practice for the archery team.

Principal Celestia called for everyone's attention and got it within a few seconds. She thanked everyone for coming and quickly got down to business: the Friendship Games.

"As you're all well aware of," she began, "the Friendship Games will be taking place this coming Friday here at CHS. Myself as well as Vice Principal Luna are more than excited to welcome our friends once again from Crystal Prep Academy in a day which will breed excellence, devotion, skillful endeavors, unity, and friendship. I know we as a school have yet to win the games against Crystal Prep, but that does not matter. The important part is that we have come close these last couple games and have turned it into an actual competition."

"Precisely," Vice Principal Luna agreed, "and as we draw closer to these games, this time...this time, the scoring will be altered in a slight way."

"Slight how?" asked Mrs. Shimmer.

"I'm glad you asked, Sunset Shimmer." Vice Principal Luna answered.

"The Friendship Games this time around," continued Principal Celestia, "will be a special edition of them."

"Special how?" Ms. Cheerilee asked.

"In accordance with Principal Cinch and Dean Cadance from Crystal Prep Academy," Principal Celestia said, "this year's version of the Friendship Games will be the alumni edition!"

Mrs. Shimmer gasped. "Alumni edition?"

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna both nodded.

"Anyone who is an alumni of CHS is eligible to play," Vice Principal Luna stated.

"However," added Principal Celestia, "because it is of short notice, we shall only allow alumni that have stayed near the area to participate and the best twelve alumni solely based on final GPA when graduating."

Mrs. Shimmer was still in shock. She raised her hand like she did when she was back in school and Principal Celestia called on her.

"So, what you're saying is..." Mrs. Shimmer drifted off for a split second before picking back up. "We're going to play in the games again?"

"That's exactly what we're saying, Sunset," smiled Principal Celestia. She turned to the rest of the faculty. "And, if this goes as well as hoped, Principal Cinch and myself have agreed to make a set of games specifically for the alumni of our schools."

"Note that this only happens if these games goes as well as expected," advised Vice Principal Luna, "if they do not, which is not expected, then the next Alumni Friendship Games will be held in two years."

"Do you know who the candidates for the competition are yet?" Mrs. Shimmer eagerly asked.

"They're right here on this paper that I'm holding, Sunset." Principal Celestia said. She rose the paper, then started reading out the names and their final GPA upon graduation. "These are the twelve alumni who have been asked, and accepted, to participate in this Friday's Friendship Games: Sunset Shimmer, with a 99.6 average at graduation, Twilight Sparkle, with a 99.6 average at graduation, Flash Sentry, with a 98.9 average at graduation, Rainbow Dash, with a 98.6 average at graduation, Rarity, with a 98.6 average at graduation, Cheerilee, with a 98.5 average at graduation, Fluttershy, with a 98.4 average at graduation, Applejack, with a 98.1 average at graduation, Lyra Heartstrings, with a 98.0 average at graduation, Big Macintosh, with a 97.6 average at graduation, Sweetie Belle, with a 97.4 average at graduation, and finally, Cranky Doodle, with a 96.7 average at graduation. These twelve alumni have all accepted to playing in the games and will be welcomed back into CHS with open arms. Let us congratulate these prestigious alumni for all of their hard work and let us also wish them luck in the games."

Principal Celestia started clapping, as did Vice Principal Luna. Eventually, the room was filled with applause and cheers, proud that the all-time best twelve students will represent their school in the coveted Friendship Games. Sunset Shimmer, though, was baffled since she did not get asked to, nor did she accept into participating in these games. When the faculty meeting cleared out, she spoke with Principal Celestia.

"A penny for your thoughts, Sunset Shimmer?" asked Principal Celestia.

"You said you asked and everyone accepted into playing in the games on Friday," she said.

"That is correct."

"But I wasn't asked." Sunset Shimmer alerted.

Principal Celestia rested her hand on Sunset Shimmer's shoulder, smiling softly at her. "I didn't ask you because I knew you would say yes."

"You knew?"

"I did," answered Principal Celestia, "and when we ran through the numbers, picking our best students, when your friends all fell into place, we knew it would make your choice even more solidified. I apologize for not asking you, but I also thank you for participating as well."

"I should be thanking you, Celestia," Sunset Shimmer smiled.

"Why's that?"

"Because you have brought us all back together," Sunset Shimmer replied, "and that's the only thing I've wanted these last couple of years."

"I see..."

"And now, we can finally beat Crystal Prep for real this time," Sunset Shimmer spoke with determination, "and we'll do it together!"

* * *

While all of Canterlot High School was buzzing about the upcoming Friendship Games, the faculty and students over at Crystal Prep Academy was even more excited. The halls were actually buzzing about not just winning in these games, but showing Canterlot High that by even fielding their all-time top twelve alumni, they will still end up losing, like they usually do.

Principal Cinch set up the twelve best students Crystal Prep has ever seen and lined them all up in her dimly lit office. Her best twelve students were Shining Armor, Sugarcoat, Indigo Zap, Sour Sweet, Lemon Zest, Sunny Flare, Moonlight Sonata, Dean Cadance, Fleur Dis Lee, Royal Pin, Neon Lights, and Lunar Nights. With the alumni all lined up in front of her, Principal Cinch sat down and stared at them all in their eyes. She then started to address them.

"I thank you all for coming here on very short notice," Principal Cinch began, "and I am sure you are all wondering why you've been called here."

"It has something to do with the Friendship Games," Shining Armor said, "doesn't it?"

"Precisely, Shining Armor," answered Principal Cinch, "and the reason behind you all being here is because these "games" will be an all-star edition, so to speak."

"All-star edition?" Sunny Flare asked.

"An all-star edition, Sunny Flare," said Principal Cinch, "and that means that I can field the best twelve students this academy has ever seen...which is where you all come in. Each of you has earned and proven your spot here at this moment. Shining Armor, with the only exception being your younger sister Twilight, whom I hear is participating in the games for Canterlot, you were the best student to ever walk these halls."

"I tried my hardest while attending," Shining Armor stated, "but I'm nowhere near as smart as Twilight is."

"Going down the line," continued Principal Cinch, "Shining Armor graduated Crystal Prep with an average of 99.8. Sugarcoat graduated with a 99.7 average."

"I was upset when I learned that it wasn't a higher grade." Sugarcoat admitted.

"It is still a higher grade than Canterlot High School's best student." Principal Cinch explained. "Indigo Zap, you also graduated Crystal Prep with a 99.7 average."

"Because I tried my hardest and hard work paid off!" Indigo Zap smirked.

"Sour Sweet," continued Principal Cinch, "you graduated with a 99.6 average."

"I was happy when I graduated!" Sour Sweet smiled. She then frowned. "Until I got my average..."

"Lemon Zest, you graduated with a 99.6 average as well."

"Yeah!" Lemon Zest shouted. "Woo hoo!"

"Anyway...Sunny Flare," Principal Cinch continued, clearing her throat, "you graduated with a 99.5 average."

"A very easy feat, honestly," Sunny Flare replied.

"Moonlight Sonata, you graduated with a 99.5 average yourself."

Moonlight Sonata smirked. She was a girl of very few words.

Principal Cinch looked at Dean Cadance next. "You, my dear, also graduated with a 99.5 average." She glanced between her and Shining Armor. "If I can recall, you two fought for the highest average every year while attending Crystal Prep."

Dean Cadance blushed. "I do remember having the upper hand for most of the time too."

Shining Armor chuckled. "Buuut, it was my senior year average which bumped me just a notch over you, Cadance."

"How do you finish a school year with an above-100 average?" Dean Cadance laughed.

"It is very difficult," Principal Cinch said, "but not impossible, although Shining Armor is the only student to do that in the history of Crystal Prep."

"I stand alone in an area that matters most." Shining Armor joked.

Principal Cinch laughed, then paid attention to Fleur Dis Lee. "You, my dear, graduated with a 99.4 average."

Fleur Dis Lee grunted. "Yeah, I did. But that was because I slipped in my last year. I would've been the better student had I not slipped."

"Perhaps, but what you've gotten was what you've earned." Principal Cinch told her.

Fleur Dis Lee grunted again. Principal Cinch then looked at Royal Pin.

"You graduated Crystal Prep with an average of 99.4 as well."

"Mmm...yes."

"Neon Lights, dear," Principal Cinch smiled, "you graduated with an average of 99.3, although it probably would have been much higher had those...events...not happen when they did."

"Yes, ma'am," Neon Lights said, "and probably."

"Still a commendable average despite everything, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, ma'am." Neon Lights nodded.

"And last, but definitely not least, is you...Lunar Nights." Principal Cinch looked over the boy top to bottom. "Although ringing in at the end, your average is still an honorable one. You graduated from Crystal Prep with an average of 99.3 yourself."

"I tried my hardest, ma'am," Lunar smirked, "although I probably should have tried a bit more while attending."

"Nevertheless," Principal Cinch continued, "you are all the top twelve students this school has ever seen, except for Twilight, whose grade, although not complete, was a solid 100. But, that is all in the past and is history."

"And as for the games, Principal Cinch?" asked Dean Cadance.

"Ah, yes," Principal Cinch smirked, "the Friendship Games. As you all are well aware of, Crystal Prep has never lost a single Friendship Game while you all attended. You all know: Crystal Prep always wins."

"It isn't even a competition really," Shining Armor said.

"That may be so," continued Principal Cinch, "but nonetheless, we must show Canterlot High School that they cannot win, even if they field their best twelve alumni."

"No problem at all," Indigo Zap smirked, "they couldn't beat us before, why beat us now? They're asking to lose to us all."

"Quite so," agreed Principal Cinch, "and another thing, Canterlot High School's reputation is very much on the rise, whereas our reputation is in a little bit of a slip. We cannot allow their reputation to overcome and pass our reputation. It is simply out of the question."

"That'll never happen." Sugarcoat stated. "They've only gotten a rise in reputation because of magic, which that one girl brought to them and they can use whenever they want."

"True," Principal Cinch nodded, "but those girls no longer go there and I've been hearing that they have all gone in their separate directions."

"But what if they are all competing against us?" Neon Lights asked.

"Should we see them, the magic would probably degenerate from them." Principal Cinch paused slightly. "I doubt that magic could reappear after spending a number of years away from each other."

The twelve prestigious students all exchanged looks between one another before anyone said anything.

"Nevertheless," Principal Cinch continued, breaking the ice, "we will not lose to that school again. We will come out victorious, even if they do have magic at their disposal. Indigo Zap, you remembered how you almost single-handedly won the motocross race against those students, despite them using magic, do you not?"

"I do," stated Indigo Zap, "and that was a totally unfair race!"

"Precisely," smiled Principal Cinch, "and if we could nearly beat them despite the unfairness of it all, we can surely defeat them now."

"Shadowbolts! Shadowbolts!"

"Excellent," Cinch smirked, "so it seems that you are all ready for the games. I'm looking forward to crushing Canterlot High School in such a way, they'll be sorry they ever came up with the idea of an alumni edition."

"Yeah!"

"You may depart," Principal Cinch addressed, "I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow here at Crystal Prep before we embark on our journey to Canterlot High School."

The twelve then bowed at Principal Cinch before exiting her office in a single-file line together. Principal Cinch sat back in her chair and smiled. She knew that Crystal Prep's alumni were more than capable of showing Canterlot High School a thing or two about wanting to compete in an all-star edition of the games and she couldn't wait to show off Crystal Prep's smartest batch of students to ever walk through her doors. The games were set for tomorrow, but the time for it couldn't seen to come by any quicker for Principal Cinch. She watched as her alumni departed from the academy and eagerly waited for the morning to come.

* * *

The next morning, Crystal Prep's alumni had all returned, dressed in their former uniforms and ready to depart to Canterlot High School on the party bus that was parked outside the school. Principal Cinch took their attendance, then addressed them as a whole on the bus. She was feeling extra confident today, knowing that Crystal Prep would wipe the floor with Canterlot High School today. She cleared her throat, then spoke out to the alumni.

"I want to thank all of you for coming back to participate in this year's special edition of the Friendship Games." She began, immediately receiving great applause from the alumni. "It is with a warm heart that I welcome back the top twelve students in the history of Crystal Prep Academy. I know you're all well aware that Canterlot High School has done the same and is preparing for our defeat but I'm here to say that it is their alumni that will be defeated, not us."

"Yeah!"

"Beating Crystal Prep is not an option!"

"Yeah!"

"Winning is our priority!"

"Yeah!"

"Who is going to win?"

"Shadowbolts!"

"Who?"

"Shadowbolts!"

"That's right," Principal Cinch smiled, "the Shadowbolts are going to be the victorious ones."

"Yeah!"

"Let us go," Principal Cinch told the bus driver, "onward to Canterlot High School and the Friendship Games!"

"Yeahhh!"

With that motivational speech, the bus started moving and the twelve alumni were on their way towards CHS for the Friendship Games once more. The energy for the Shadowbolts was through the roof and it was more than enough to get everybody pumped up into seeing Canterlot High School fall once more.

* * *

The bus had parked outside of Canterlot High School and the alumni for Crystal Prep had gotten off of it and lined up next to it, chatting amongst each other about previous games. Principal Cinch was the last to get off the bus and was greeted by Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna.

"Welcome back to Canterlot High School, Principal Cinch," smiled Princess Celestia. "There have been many changes to our school since you were last here."

"I'm sure there has been," replied Principal Cinch, "and I am more than excited about these games this time."

"As are we, Principal Cinch," Vice Principal Luna said.

"Indeed," added Principal Celestia, "I'm more than happy to welcome back so many familiar faces, just ready to compete again."

"Quite the same," agreed Principal Cinch.

"Let's go check-in your alumni and then we'll settle everyone in the gym for another speech." Principal Celestia suggested.

"After you, Principal Celestia." Principal Cinch said.

The administration for the two schools then walked over to Crystal Prep's alumni and began taking attendance as such.

"Shining Armor?" Principal Cinch called.

"Present!"

"Sugarcoat?"

"Here!"

"Indigo Zap?"

"Here!"

"Sour Sweet?"

"Here! To win!"

"Lemon Zest?"

"Righto!"

"Sunny Flare?"

"Present!"

"Moonlight Sonata?"

Moonlight Sonata rose her hand. Principal Cinch continued with the attendance.

"Dean Cadance?"

"Present, Principal Cinch."

"Fleur Dis Lee?"

"Here."

"Royal Pin?"

"Present, as such."

"Neon Lights?"

"I'm here!"

"Lunar Nights?"

"Here!"

"Perfect," Principal Cinch smiled, "everyone's here."

"Right," Principal Celestia said, "Let's gather in the gym with our twelve competitors and we'll start the games shortly thereafter."

"Of course," Principal Cinch agreed, allowing Principal Celestia to walk into the school. She followed behind her, as did the twelve alumni and Vice Principal Luna, to the gym, eager to start the very close Friendship Games: Alumni Edition.

* * *

As the students from Crystal Prep proceeded into the gym, they were greeted by many Canterlot High students, most of which gave them disgraceful looks. The two schools knew the rivalry between them and, like someone close to Sunset Shimmer once said, "it's hard to get along with someone who beats you at everything." Both sides knew the score between them, with Canterlot High earning a goose egg in terms of total amount of wins over the years.

The students from both schools separated themselves and formed a wide gap between them as well. The students stood on their respective side of the gym and glared at the opposition across from them. Seeing this brought back many memories to the Friendship Games that Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash participated in some years ago. It was almost an exact mirrored version of their games, seeing the two schools easily separate themselves.

On the stage, Principal Celestia tapped a wired microphone and grabbed everyone's attention. She addressed them all, greeting them kindly, including the Crystal Prep students and alumni.

"Hello and welcome back to Canterlot High School, everyone," she began, receiving mixed emotions from both sides of the room. She continued onward. "I'd first like to extend a warm, Canterlot High welcome to the returning Crystal Prep alumni and our own alumni from Canterlot High as they prepare to participate in this years' alumni edition of the Friendship Games." More cheers broke out as Principal Celestia paused for a moment. She grabbed a breath of fresh air, then continued on. "For those who do not know, the top twelve students from both schools have been called and have agreed to be here to participate in the games. In front of you all are the role models represented by not only Canterlot High, but by Crystal Prep as well. They stand before you, ready to win for their school and bring home glory for said school.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Principal Celestia smiled, motioning towards the Canterlot High School alumni representatives, "allow me to introduce to you the twelve students who will represent Canterlot High School in the games this year: Sunset Shimmer."

Sunset Shimmer waved her arm around and received a loud standing ovation, filled with claps, cheers, and whistling. She stopped waving, smiling very brightly, and turned to Principal Celestia, allowing her to continue with the list of students.

Principal Celestia smirked, "Uhh, next up is Twilight Sparkle, playing against her former school."

Twilight smiled sheepishly, waving to the crowd as well. She too had received a loud standing ovation and began blushing a bright pink color. Principal Celestia found this amusing.

"And now, Flash Sentry."

Flash, laid back at the moment on one of the bleachers, addressed the crowd without standing up. He received a loud ovation before Principal Celestia continued.

"Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash smirked and grabbed a lot of the attention, receiving a very loud and very long set of cheers and clapping.

"Rarity."

Rarity waved at the crowd and brushed her deep purple hair back and away from her face. She kindly received a warm welcome back into the former school, ready to defeat the rival Shadowbolts.

"Cheerliee," continued Principal Celestia.

Cheerliee rose from her seat and waved at the crowd, receiving a decent amount of applause. Principal Celestia continued with the list.

"Next up is Fluttershy," she stated.

Fluttershy, nervous about being called out loud, quivered a wave and received applause as well. She curled herself in a ball after hearing the loud room for herself and would not budge. Skipping the act from Fluttershy, Principal Celestia moved on to the next name on the list.

"Applejack."

Applejack waved to the crowd, pointing at it as well. "We're gonna win this for y'all!" She shouted, receiving a heavy amount of applause.

"That's the spirit," Principal Celestia smiled, moving on to the next name, "now, next up is Lyra."

Lyra waved spastically at the crowd and jumped up and down in place. The crowd followed Lyra's motions, letting Principal Celestia move on to the next name.

"Big Macintosh," continued Principal Celestia.

"Eeyup," smirked Big Macintosh, gaining much applause.

"Now we have Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Belle waved rapidly at the crowd and received much applause for her energy. Principal Celestia moved on to the last name on the list.

"And finally," she said, "we have Cranky."

Cranky smiled and waved at everyone in the crowd, receiving no less applause for being mentioned last. Principal Celestia turned and smiled at the twelve alumni, motioning towards them all.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Principal Celestia announced, "your twelve representatives in this years' Friendship Games."

Much applause followed afterwards and was greatly appreciated. Principal Celestia then left the stage, followed closely by the twelve students, as the applause slowly started dying out. It had completely gone away once Principal Cinch stepped foot on the stage. She tapped the microphone and started addressing the crowd in her own way - speaking down towards the crowd.

"I'd firstly like to thank Principal Celestia for having us return once more." Principal Cinch began, clapping at Principal Celestia in the process. She returned to addressing the crowd. "It's been a rather perplexing four years since our last Friendship Games at Crystal Prep Academy. It has been noted that, even though Crystal Prep ended up being victorious, it was the closest games in the history of the Friendship Games. I'd also like to thank Crystal Prep's twelve alumni for taking time out of their days to participate in the alumni edition of the Friendship Games as well and, much like Principal Celestia moments ago, I too shall list the twelve students that will represent Crystal Prep this year.

"Firstly, there is Shining Armor."

As predicted, Shining Armor waved at the crowd, receiving a light amount of cheers from the Crystal Prep students that attended today's games. Like Twilight once said, "Crystal Prep students aren't happy with things they don't do themselves."

Principal Cinch proceeded on with her list of students.

"Next, we have Sugarcoat."

Sugarcoat blew a bubble from the gum she was chewing and stared blankly into the space around Principal Cinch. Cinch saw this and continued the list.

"Indigo Zap is up next."

Indigo Zap smirked, ready to take down her greatest rival, Rainbow Dash, in an event that pitted the two against each other.

Principal Cinch moved on to the next name. "Sour Sweet."

Sour Sweet smiled and waved at the crowd for a few moments then frowned and growled at them for waving back at her. Principal Cinch smirked and moved on.

"Lemon Zest is up now."

"Yeah! Woo!" she cheered.

"Sunny Flare."

Sunny Flare frowned and looked away from the crowd. Principal Cinch ignored it and continued down the list.

"Moonlight Sonata."

She smiled and waved, receiving almost as much applause as Shining Armor did a couple of minutes ago.

Principal Cinch continued, "Up next is our very own dean, Dean Cadance."

Cadance smiled and waved at not only her crowd of Shadowbolts, but at the crowd of Wondercolts, receiving slightly more applause than Shining Armor or Moonlight Sonata did.

"Now is Fleur Dis Lee."

Fleur Dis Lee frowned and cracked her knuckles. She stared at the opposition and plotted taking them down herself.

"Royal Pin."

Royal Pin sighed, waving slightly at the crowd of people behind and around him, receiving next to nothing in terms of applause.

"Neon Lights comes next."

Neon Lights sheepishly waved at the crowd and hid her face behind her hair.

"And finally," concluded Principal Cinch, "Lunar Nights."

Lunar grunted, then stared at his opposition, hoping that he would be the one who would take them down. Principal Cinch continued with her speech, smiling slyly.

"These are the twelve students who will represent Crystal Prep Academy and win for them," she said. "As I look forward to the games, I wish you all the very best of luck, despite the inevitable outcome. Good luck to you all, and I shall see you all prior to the first events starting."

The crowd of Shadowbolts and Wondercolts stared each other down blankly. The Wondercolts knew that this would be their time to win, although the Shadowbolts knew that said win would not happen. As Principal Cinch told them, "Crystal Prep needs to let Canterlot High know that winning and defeating Crystal Prep is simply not an option."

The gymnasium was filled with the students from both schools for a little while longer before being dismissed by Principal Celestia. The Canterlot High School principal dispersed the crowd, telling the students that the first event, the Academic Decathlon, would start in the center of the main hallway in a mere ten minutes.

"Participants should report there immediately." Vice Principal Luna added before the crowd fully disappeared.

Principal Cinch was excited, hoping that her best twelve students would end up crushing Canterlot High's alumni with ease. She left the gym and waited for her students in the center of the main hallway.

* * *

Ten minutes quickly passed for the participants. They all reported to the main hallway and separated themselves, having the Wondercolt representatives stand on the left side of the hall and the Shadowbolt representatives standing on the right side. In the middle, there stood Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch. Vice Principal Luna stood behind them both as they all began addressing whatever crowd had returned to see the first event of the Friendship Games begin. Most of the students cheered for Canterlot High to beat the Shadowbolts, but it was pretty obvious why. It was also noted that the sound of the crowd was uneasy, seeing how they were unsure of how the team of alumni would perform against Crystal Prep. Nevertheless, they would stand by their team, regardless of the outcome. Within a few minutes, Principal Celestia stepped forward and addressed everyone; Wondercolts, Shadowbolts, and onlookers.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she started, "welcome to the first event of the Friendship Games: the Academic Decathlon!" She paused in recognition of the cheers that followed shortly afterwards.

Principal Cinch stepped forward next. "In this first event," she began, "students from both teams will be scored on how well they perform in subjects ranging from Chemistry to Home Economics and everything in between."

"Reminder, students," Vice Principal Luna spoke, "only the top six students from both teams will move on towards the remaining events in the games, so do your best and try your hardest."

"First up is Chemistry," Principal Celestia announced. "One student from both teams will conduct an experiment and result in having to mix chemicals, acids, and bases in an attempt to concoct a mixture inside a test tube and/or beaker."

"Reminder, students, that these chemicals, acids, and bases are highly dangerous," added Principal Cinch, "so work at your own caution."

"At the end," continued Principal Celestia, "you will all be scored on how well you performed the experiment, how fast you completed it, and how safely you performed it. Is everybody ready for the first leg of the Academic Decathlon?"

Both sides nodded in unison, ready to kick start the first leg of the Friendship Games. Principal Cinch picked her best student, Shining Armor, to represent Crystal Prep in the chemistry portion of the decathlon. Principal Celestia chose Sunset Shimmer to represent Canterlot High School, making a very difficult decision in choosing her over the scientific Twilight.

"Are both competitors ready?" Vice Principal Luna asked.

"Ready!" replied both students.

"Let the Alumni Edition of the Friendship Games begin!" Principal Celestia happily announced, beginning the race and the games.

With a wave of her hand, Principal Celestia started the first leg of the Friendship Games, the chemistry portion of the Academic Decathlon. Sunset Shimmer and Shining Armor ran down the hallway and into the chemistry room at the end of said hallway.

"Good luck," Sunset Shimmer chimed, putting on her lab coat.

Shining Armor smirked. "You'll need it."

Sunset Shimmer grunted, then put on her eye goggles. She proceeded to her table and quickly went to work, mixing acids and bases in just the right amount, making sure to remain safe above all other things. She turned to Shining Armor, who was successfully mixing the same acids and bases, but on a much quicker pace. Sunset Shimmer paid no attention to the recklessness of Shining Armor and continued mixing her liquids in the beaker.

Principal Celestia then walked into the room with her goggles on and overlooked both students, noticing their different patterns and methods. She noticed Sunset Shimmer going slower, but on a safer basis, and saw Shining Armor mix his liquids in the beaker much quicker, albeit on a much more reckless basis. She overlooked the two for a little while longer - fifteen minutes, to be exact - until she called for both of them to stop in their tracks. The two stopped what they were doing and stepped back away from their work stations, ready to be evaluated on how well they performed.

"First up," Principal Celestia stated, "Shining Armor for Crystal Prep Academy."

Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and Principal Cinch all studied Shining Armor's final mixture and then his measurements. When they finished jotting down some notes, they turned and discussed silently on Shining Armor's methods taken. When they came to a conclusion, the three wrote down some more notes, then turned and faced Sunset Shimmer.

"Next up," Principal Cinch said, "Sunset Shimmer for Canterlot High School."

The three administration members then studied Sunset Shimmer's final mixture and then her measurements. They jot down some more notes in their pads and then discussed Sunset Shimmer's methods taken. It was a longer discussion than that of Shining Armor's, but it was unsure at the current moment who's method was better than the other's. After careful analyzing, the administration staff congratulated both Sunset Shimmer and Shining Armor and went back into the hallway to address the remaining ten alumni, waiting for their particular subject.

Principal Celestia spoke up first. "Good job to the two participants."

"Next up in the decathlon is physical education." Principal Cinch addressed.

"That's right," continued Principal Celestia, "and in this leg of the decathlon, one student from both teams will race against each other and the clock through an obstacle course located in the gymnasium. Students will be tested solely on how fast they can complete the course."

"Reminder," added Vice Principal Luna, "any illegality conducted by any student during the race will result in time punishment and/or a disqualification for their school for this leg of the race."

Principal Celestia chose Rainbow Dash to represent Canterlot High School during this leg of the race while Principal Cinch picked Indigo Zap to represent Crystal Prep.

"Representing Canterlot High School is Rainbow Dash!" Principal Celestia announced.

"Aww, yeah!" Rainbow Dash cheered. She received some of the loudest applause of the day so far.

"Representing Crystal Prep Academy will be Indigo Zap." Principal Cinch said.

"Hey!"

The two competitors started side by side and immediately, Rainbow Dash challenged Indigo Zap to keep up with her.

"Heh," Indigo Zap smirked, "you'll be the one left in the dust."

"Not if I can say anything about that!" Rainbow Dash replied.

The two alumni positioned themselves ready for the race and were opposite in position from Principal Celestia, who was ready to start the second leg of the decathlon.

"Are the participants ready?" She asked.

"Ready!" Both alumni responded.

"Go!" Principal Celestia shouted, dropping her hand from above her head, starting the second leg of the race.

Rainbow Dash and Indigo Zap then raced out of the hallway and straight to the gym where, as expected, an obstacle course stood. There were hanging ropes, a net to catch anyone, should they fall off, some ladders, tires that laid on their sides, some flat-headed cones arranged in a peculiar pattern, and a bell on the far corner that was to be rung by the winner. Both competitors sprinted for the hanging ropes, with Rainbow Dash reaching them first. She swung from rope to rope with much ease, quickly leaving Indigo Zap behind, whom was having trouble herself with the ropes.

Rainbow Dash, sprinting towards the pattern of static ladders, knew she grabbed herself a lead, but also knew that it was not an assured lead. Indigo Zap was not one to give up easily and pushed herself through the swinging-rope challenge, completing it on her second attempt and rushing towards the ladders. Rainbow Dash, looking back to check on Indigo Zap, completed the ladder section in a breeze and proceeded towards the empty tires to "tip-toe" through.

Indigo Zap, still behind, completed the ladders on a much quicker basis than Rainbow Dash did, catching up to the tire section herself. Rainbow Dash sped through it, but Indigo Zap completed it slightly faster, behind Rainbow Dash by about six feet now.

The two competitors then proceeded towards the flat-headed cones, running stints of suicide runs. They were both equally as fast, although Rainbow Dash slightly started to tire out, slowly, but surely, allowing Indigo Zap to catch up with her. Finished, they both spotted the bell to ring and ran towards it. It was a neck and neck race to the bell, coming down to just about half a step, but in the end, Rainbow Dash was the one who rung the bell first to end the obstacle course.

Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and Principal Cinch jotted down some notes on their clipboards, then proceeded to congratulate both Rainbow Dash and Indigo Zap on a job well done. Rainbow Dash took it as a hard-earned compliment, while Indigo Zap took it as a way of them insulting her abilities. The administration staff then went back into the hallway and began to address the crowd of students that could attend to watch and the eight remaining students.

"After everything that has happened," Principal Celestia stated, "the second leg has come to a close."

"Now," added Principal Cinch, "it is time for the third leg: Grammar and Vocabulary."

"In this leg of the race," continued Principal Celestia, "one student from both sides will be tested solely on their grammatical abilities as well as their vivid vocabulary."

"They will answer questions given to them on this piece of paper." Principal Cinch held up the handout, giving an example of what she meant. "There are thirty multiple-choice questions to answer."

"As a reminder," Principal Celestia said, "the students will be graded on completed answered only! Any answer that is wrong, points are taken off. If you do not know the answer to something, you may skip it and have no penalty resulted."

Principal Celestia went over to her group of remaining alumni and chose Cheerliee to participate in this event. Principal Cinch did the same, choosing Royal Pin to represent their academy.

"Cheerliee will be representing Canterlot High School!" Principal Celestia addressed.

"Royal Pin shall represent Crystal Prep Academy!" added Principal Cinch.

"If both competitors are ready," Vice Principal Luna announced, "the third leg of the games shall begin...NOW!"

Both competitors grabbed the sheet of paper and set it down on a hard area they could use in order to write on said piece of paper. Cheerliee seemed to have no problem with the assignment, although the same could not be said for Royal Pin, seeing how he was having much trouble with just the first question alone.

Cheerliee answered the last question about two minutes later and handed it in to the administration staff of Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and Prinicpal Cinch. She waited patiently for Royal Pin to finish, looking and glancing all around the current room she was in. She rested her glance on the three principals, then began feeling a bit uneasy after how they responded. She watched them all jot down notes on their clipboards, then saw Royal Pin hand in his assignment. They all watched as Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch graded the assignment Royal Pin gave them, having smiles on their faces. They jotted down some more notes on their clipboards, then turned to both alumni and complimented them on a job well done. Royal Pin smiled back in response whereas Cheerilee wore a false smile. Deep down, she had a feeling that she let her school down on this assignment. Both Principals then grabbed another sheet of paper and placed it face down on their desks. Principal Celestia explained to them that this was the vocabulary portion of the games.

"On the desk in front of you both," Principal Celestia stated, "there is a vocabulary assignment. Again, there are questions for you to answer and you will be timed solely on how well you do on this assignment and leg."

"When you are ready," added Principal Cinch, "feel free to take your sheet and flip it over. Begin working on it immediately and prepare for anything to happen on the paper."

Cheerilee reached out first and grabbed the sheet of paper, flipping it over in front of her. She skimmed through the page and noticed right off the bat that there were vocabulary words and terms on that page that she had never heard of before. Royal Pin, on the other hand, smirked, knowing quite a few of these words because of how Crystal Prep Academy taught them, and moderately got through the assignment, finishing it before Cheerliee. He handed in his paper to Principal Cinch, who took it to Principal Celestia for joint grading. Looking at his assignment, they both liked what they saw, then began jotting down notes on their clipboards again. Cheerliee gulped, then began guessing her answers, feeling pressured to answer and complete her assignment as quickly as possible. When she finished, she handed it in to Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch. The two looked over Cheerilee's assignment and had bold expressions on them the entire time. When time had come, Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch both wrote down more notes in their notepads on their clipboards. Once that was done, the three administrative staff members congratulated both Cheerliee and Royal Pin on a job well done, then dismissed them into the hallway, behind their respective groups and awaiting further details. When Principal Celestia, Principal Cinch, and Vice Principal Luna exited the room they were in, they dismissed the crowd for a few moments before proceeding with the decathlon.

"For those who may need to use the washroom or get a drink of water," Principal Celestia said, "use these next five minutes wisely. When we come back, the fourth leg of the decathlon will begin. We shall see you in five minutes."

The crowd began to disperse and go separate ways, preparing each other for the next leg of the games. They may have just started, but both sides mutually agreed that things were just starting to heat up.

* * *

After the intermission and ready to continue with the decathlon, the students and alumni from both schools returned to the center hallway, ready and eager to get back to the games. Sunset Shimmer overlooked Canterlot High School's alumni lineup and noticed that someone was missing.

"Hey," she said after a while, "has anyone seen Cranky?"

The other alumni looked around and wondered what happened to him. They knew he was there a moment prior to the intermission, but now he was nowhere to be seen. Finally, after some time passed, Principal Celestia had returned, being the bearer of bad news.

"During the intermission," she explained, "Cranky had an emergency situation and has been forced to leave abruptly, leaving Canterlot with only eleven alumni. As per the rules, Canterlot will be forced to forfeit one event, but that event will be decided by myself and Vice Principal Luna, agreed to by Principal Cinch."

Sunset Shimmer was shocked, then remembered that Pinkie Pie wasn't here in the games with the rest of her friends. She took out her phone and scrolled down to Pinkie Pie's number, setting up a text message to send to her. Once she found it, she started sending Pinkie a message as fast as her fingers would allow her to go.

"Hey, Pinkie," read the message, "it's Sunset Shimmer. Hey listen. The new Friendship Games have started and we need one more participant to help us beat Crystal Prep. If you're in the area, please try to stop by and give us a hand. Thanks."

Sunset Shimmer hit 'send' and sent the message on its way towards Pinkie Pie's phone. She turned around and faced the rest of the competition, who had started proceeding to the fourth leg of the Academic Decathlon. She caught up with the group and continued walking slowly behind them, checking her phone every fifteen-to-twenty seconds.

Shortly thereafter, the group of alumni from both schools, followed closely by students from Canterlot High School, reached the next stage of the decathlon. It was slightly peculiar - the current leg, that is - but it had to be done. Principal Celestia smiled, then addressed the conjoined crowd.

"Allow me to introduce the next stage of the Academic Decathlon," she said, "the Music leg of the decathlon."

"Two students from both teams will play a music piece of their own choice," Vice Principal Luna added, "they will be scored on how hard the piece is, how lovely they can make it sound, and their ability throughout the leg."

"Representing Canterlot High School shall be Lyra Heartstrings and Sweetie Belle," Principal Celestia declared.

The two girls raised their hands and waved them back and forth, receiving a huge standing ovation as a result. Lyra seemed raring to go, but Sweetie Belle grew nervous. She always has been told that she had a beautiful sounding voice, but she was still a bit nervous about singing in front of a couple hundred people.

"Representing Crystal Prep Academy shall be Lunar Nights and Moonlight Sonata." Principal Cinch responded, pitting her two best musical students against the alumni from Canterlot High.

"If both teams are ready," continued Vice Principal Luna, "the fourth leg will begin in three...two...one...NOW!"

Bringing down her hand, Vice Principal Luna started the fourth leg of the decathlon and was rushed past by the competitors to specific instruments - Lyra approached the lyre, Sweetie Belle approached the microphone, Lunar Nights approached an acoustic guitar, and Moonlight Sonata also approached one of the spare microphones the music room had. Lunar tuned the guitar, which was out of tune heavily, while Lyra did the same with her lyre, also checking the strings and their durability. As for Sweetie Belle and Moonlight, they checked to see if their respective microphones were in working condition and then connected them to an amp and speaker, putting the volume down lower than usual. Once ready, the competitors stared at Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch. As the visiting school, Crystal Prep was allowed to go first, being limited to a maximum of five minutes.

"First up is Lunar and Moonlight," Principal Cinch smirked. "Whenever you're ready, you two."

Lunar and Moonlight smiled, then began to count down a beat. Lunar started playing a soft melody on the acoustic guitar, playing it with elegance and emotion. He looked at Moonlight, then gave her her cue to start singing, just in case she didn't get a feel for the beat yet.

 _"Saying goes that when you're stuck on a mountain  
_ _You try to go up, you try to go down, you turn around  
_ _To face a wall so you can face yourself  
_ _realizing you've made a mistake._

 _"And you are being stuck on the moon  
_ _like the rest of us, trying to make sense of it  
_ _crying cause we don't have any reason  
_ _we're alone together, cause we all  
_ _share the very same crime._

 _"Some will say that this is not going to last long  
_ _Some will say that if we try we can't go wrong  
_ _As time goes on we are not leaving this place  
_ _Cause when we'll come back we lose our track of time and space._

 _"So together we are all lost on the moon  
_ _We all share our home on the moon, we  
_ _forever we are lost on the moon,  
_ _together we pay your crime on the moon~"_

Moonlight Sonata's voice was very beautiful and purely out of emotion. Her vibrato was on point for the sections needed for excess emphasis and her tone and quality was no less than perfect. Lunar played his heart out on the acoustic guitar and played with just as much emotion as Moonlight sang in. The duo was completely perfect with their performances and happy to have been selected and participated in this leg of the decathlon.

They bowed towards Principal Cinch and Principal Celestia, then walked towards the right of the room, paving the way for Sweetie Belle and Lyra. Sweetie Belle was now even more nervous, seeing how perfectly Moonlight just sang "Lost on the Moon." Lyra patted her back and smiled at her, trying to assure her that she had nothing to be worried about while they performed. It worked momentarily for Sweetie Belle, but she went right back to being nervous. Principal Celestia smiled at the two girls and then introduced them both.

"Representing Canterlot High is Lyra Heartstrings and Sweetie Belle," she stated, "good luck, ladies."

Lyra, knowing perfectly what song Sweetie Belle wanted to sing - they spoke to each other while Lunar and Moonlight performed - started playing her lyre in a key in which the mood and emotion of the song was darker than usual. She smiled at Sweetie Belle, then gave her her cue to start singing.

 _"I knew you were~  
_ _You were gonna come to me  
_ _And here you are~  
_ _But you better choose carefully  
_ _Cause I'm capable of anything~  
_ _Of anything~ and everything~_

 _"Make me your Aphrodite  
_ _Make me your one and only  
_ _But don't make me your enemy~, your enemy~, your enemy~_

 _"So you wanna play with magic  
_ _Boy, you should know what you're falling for~  
_ _Baby do you dare to do this~  
_ _Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse~_

 _"Are you ready for, ready for~  
_ _A perfect storm, a perfect storm~  
_ _Cause once you're mine, once you're mine~  
_ _There's no going back."_

Sweetie Belle, despite feeling very nervous prior to performing, felt herself get lost in the music. She sang her song very beautifully and made her emphasis known with her vibrato and tone. Lyra, having never played a song in a darker tone and quality on a lyre before, did a masterful job with playing and did a wonderful job sight-reading her music sheet.

Again, just like before with Lunar and Moonlight, Sweetie Belle and Lyra bowed to Principal Cinch and Principal Celestia, making their way out of the room to the right. The two principals jotted down some notes on their clipboards and were faced with a very difficult decision. Both performances were extremely well done and making a decision on who exactly was better was going to be a lot harder than they had anticipated earlier.

"Who knew that we both had students so skillfully masterful in the art of music..." Principal Cinch explained.

"I know," agreed Principal Celestia, "choosing between these two will be very tough."

"I hear you, Principal Celestia," Principal Cinch responded, jotting down more notes on her clipboard.

* * *

Both Sweetie Belle and Lyra were thankful that the singing and music leg of the decathlon were history. Sweetie Belle, despite singing and giving her best performance, was very nervous throughout the song, trying to move and shimmy past the extremely high bar that was set by Lunar and Moonlight.

On the flip side, Lunar and Moonlight were both feeling mixed emotions on their performance. They felt confident in their performance prior to Sweetie Belle's and Lyra's performance, but after they finished, things weren't the same. They were actually left in shock and awe at how well Sweetie Belle and Lyra performed; they weren't expecting that well of a performance from them.

After a few tense minutes, Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch exited the music room and concluded the fourth leg of the decathlon. Principal Celestia then soon came up and stated that the fifth leg of the decathlon would be Home Economics.

"In this leg of the race," Principal Cinch explained, "a total of three students will be tasked with baking a cake. Students will be scored on execution, presentation, and delectableness on the cake they bake."

Principal Celestia looked around her group, easily noticing two contestants who can help out, but wishing she had her third one with them. She glanced around, then asked if anyone knew how to bake a delicious cake.

Principal Cinch, on the other hand, selected her three alumni to represent Crystal Prep Academy: Sunny Flare, Neon Lights, and Fleur Dis Lee. She knew that those three knew a thing or two about baking and had heard that they unsuccessfully tried to start a business in that line of operations. The only reason they had failed was because the rent for space in city limits was obnoxiously high and they weren't able to afford it. After selecting her three students, Principal Cinch turned around and faced Principal Celestia and the two students she had selected: Sunset Shimmer and Rarity. She began smirking at Principal Celestia and asked if they were ready.

"One more moment, Principal Cinch," Principal Celestia answered, going back to her group. She glanced around yet again. "Does anyone else know how to bake a cake?"

The students glumly responded with a collective no by shaking their heads.

Sunset Shimmer and Rarity stared back at their group and wondered what they could do to help, but not much came to mind.

"We can't bake a cake with just the two of us, dear," Rarity exclaimed.

"I know that," Sunset Shimmer sighed. She stared at her phone in her hand and sighed again. "I wish Pinkie would answer me."

Instinctively, as if almost on cue or by magic, Sunset Shimmer's phone vibrated in her hand and she quickly unlocked it to see what notification she just received. Her eyes lit up when she saw what she got.

"Principal Celestia!" Sunset Shimmer yelped.

"What's the matter, Sunset?" Principal Celestia asked, looking back at Sunset Shimmer and slightly startled by the random outburst.

"We have our third member!" Sunset Shimmer continued.

"What?"

"Pinkie Pie has arrived on campus to participate in the games!" Sunset Shimmer happily shouted.

* * *

Out on the front of the campus, the petite party person jumped up and down as she stared at her old school from top to bottom. She was excited to come back and was even more excited that she was called upon to participate in the games. Armed with cake and muffins, Pinkie Pie smiled and was eager to participate in whatever leg of the games she was needed in.

"I'm baaaack~!" She smiled, making her way inside the school.

* * *

It was all falling into place here at CHS as Pinkie Pie arrived just in time for the Home Economics portion of the decathlon, filling in a spot for Cranky. It was almost like something out of a book or a story, but she made it just in time and Principal Cinch approved of the substitution, allowing Pinkie Pie to play in the games. With not even a moment to spare, Pinkie Pie, Sunset Shimmer, and Rarity all got to work on their cake, doing exactly how Pinkie told them to do it and when to do it. As for Crystal Prep's representatives, they too were hard at work and busy baking the cake. Neon Lights took charge and told her teammates to do exactly what they needed to do and when to do it as well.

A couple of hours had passed by since the fifth leg started and the contestants were nearing completion. As they began to pull out the cake and decorate it, time was running out. It wasn't a particularly large cake that the CHS alumni made together, but it was one cake that was made. Pinkie Pie insisted on focusing on not how the cake looks, but how it tastes. She emphasized mainly on taste and she knew just exactly what to put into the cake to make it the best tasting one ever. Neon Lights and her crew, on the other hand, focused primarily on presentation rather than taste. They spent the majority of the time decorating the cake, making sure it looked beautiful and perfect.

Once time was called, the two groups presented each of their cakes to the judges, Principals Celestia and Cinch and Vice Principal Luna, and eagerly awaited the results. The three administrative staff saw both cakes and immediately were drawn towards the cake from Crystal Prep Academy. They each were served a slice and took a bite out of it, giving instant satisfaction for the Crystal Prep alumni. Sunset Shimmer and Rarity began questioning themselves and worrying that they may have been beaten, but Pinkie Pie reassured them.

"Relax, you guys," she smirked, "I know what I'm doing."

"I sure hope so, darling." Rarity remarked.

Pinkie Pie didn't let up on her smile and was even more happier when it was time for them to be judged. Almost instantly, Principal Cinch and Vice Principal Luna wrote something in their notes on their respective clipboards regarding the visual of the cake. Principal Celestia, on the other hand, refused to write anything because, as any professor would know, you can't judge a book by its cover.

After being cut a slice of cake for each of them, Pinkie Pie smirked and told them to enjoy it and she stepped back, hoping to capture the reactions to each of the judges. Deep down, Pinkie Pie knew that the cake wasn't as decorative as the one Neon Lights and her team comprised, but she knew that there was absolutely no way they could be defeated, in terms of taste. After taking one bite from Canterlot High School's cake, faces shot upward and looked straight at Pinkie Pie and her group of friends.

"Tasty," smiled Pinkie, "wouldn't ya say?"

"How did you do this...?" Principal Cinch asked.

"A good chef never reveals her secrets," laughed Pinkie Pie, "It's my secret ingredient."

"Secret ingredient?" repeated Principal Cinch.

"Yup!"

"Was it a foreign ingredient?"

"Nope!"

"It wasn't?"

"It was made entirely in the kitchen, Principal Cinch." Sunset Shimmer explained.

"Is that so?" Principal Cinch responded.

Pinkie Pie smiled and nodded while Principal Cinch jotted down some notes on her clipboard. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna did the same, judging accordingly on what they tasted, rather than how it looked. Sunset Shimmer and Rarity hugged Pinkie Pie, thanking her for coming.

"Anything for my bestest friends ever!" Pinkie Pie cheered, hugging the two back tightly.

"Thank you very much, everyone," Principal Celestia smiled, "you may leave now for the next leg of the decathlon."

"Thank you." the alumni responded simultaneously, leaving the room in a single-file line. They returned to their respective groups, ready to start the next leg of the event.

* * *

"Alright, everyone! It's time for the sixth leg of the decathlon, Physics!"

"Another science category?" Royal Pin grunted.

"Now, now," Principal Celestia continued, "I know we never had more than one science or math category in the games before, but I understand that we have a few physics professors here with us today."

"That is correct, Principal Celestia," Principal Cinch agreed, "may the physics professors please stand forward?"

Emerging from Canterlot High School's side of the hallway was Fluttershy. The students as well as the alumni were all in shock by this. Sunset Shimmer pulled her over gently.

"You're a physics professor?" She asked.

"Umm...yes." Fluttershy answered.

"What happened to being a vet?"

"That's my next step for the future, Sunset." smiled Fluttershy.

Sunset Shimmer smiled in response, then looked back over to the Crystal Prep alumni. Emerging from their group was Sugarcoat. She frowned when she faced her competition.

"Another settling defeat for Canterlot High School." Sugarcoat sighed.

"That's not a very nice thing to say," Fluttershy responded.

"Trust me," continued Sugarcoat, "it isn't a competition on who the nicest people are, you know."

"Now, now, you two," Principal Celestia eased, trying to calm the situation down a bit, "we'll see who the better school is after this event."

"Whatever," Sugarcoat snidely remarked.

"These two professors will go toe-to-toe against each other in a series of physics-based questions." Vice Principal Luna announced. "They will be scored on how accurate and correct their responses are to each question. This is solely a test based on who knows what and how well. If in the event there is a draw between these two, the professor who finishes first will be deemed the winner."

"Take your time," Sunset Shimmer called out, "it's better to go slow and analyze what you're writing rather than speeding through it, even if it is right."

"Right." Fluttershy nodded.

"Are both professors ready?" Principal Celestia asked.

"Ready." Fluttershy called.

"Ready." Sugarcoat boldly responded.

"Let the sixth leg of the decathlon begin!"

Fluttershy and Sugarcoat were taken into a nearby physics classroom. It happened to be empty for today and was already set up with physics-based questions for them. Sugarcoat analyzed the questions - all three of them - and started working on a response prior to even reaching her portion of the chalkboard for her responses. Fluttershy also analyzed the questions and started mapping out and drawing how she would go about answering the questions prior to reaching her portion of the chalkboard.

"I hope you're ready to lose, professor," Sugarcoat rudely replied, "because I already know the answers." She actually knew two of the three answers.

Fluttershy didn't respond and instead went to work on the first question. The question read: _Two blocks are connected by a string of negligible mass that passes over massless pulleys that turn with negligible friction, as shown in the figure above. The mass m2 of block 2 is greater than the mass m1 of block 1. The blocks are released from rest. Derive the magnitude of the acceleration of block 2. Express your answer in terms of m1 , m2 , and g._

Fluttershy quickly got to work on such an easy physics question - easy, in the sense that it came naturally to her. She drew a diagram on the board which represented the question and what exactly it was asking for. She set out to work on the math portion of the question. Beneath the diagram she drew, Fluttershy began writing down the formula that was required to answer the question.

 _Fnet = (m2 - m1)g_

Once she wrote it down, Flutershy continued on with reading the question. She saw that the last part to this question was referring to something else: _Block 3 of mass m3 is added to the system. There is no friction between block 3 and the table. Indicate whether the magnitude of the acceleration of block 2 is now larger, smaller, or the same as in the original two-block system. Explain how you arrived at your answer._

Smirking, Fluttershy went to work on the last portion of the question. She began to write down her answer below the formula she wrote.

 _The acceleration of the new system, and thus of block 2, is smaller. The total mass of the system is now larger, but the acceleration is smaller because the tension that is exerted on block 2 is now greater._

Fluttershy was pleased with her answer and wanted to check on how Sugarcoat handled it, but couldn't in jeopardy of forfeiting the round for accused cheating. She set out to work on the next problem instead. The problem read: _Some students want to know what gets used up in an incandescent lightbulb when it is in series with a resistor: current, energy, or both. They come up with the following two questions:_

 _(1) In one second, do fewer electrons leave the bulb than enter the bulb?_

 _(2) Does the electric potential energy of electrons change while inside the bulb?_

 _The students have an adjustable power source, insulated wire, lightbulbs, resistors, switches, voltmeters, ammeters, and other standard lab equipment. Assume that the power supply and voltmeters are marked in 0.1 V increments and the ammeters are marked in 0.01 A increments._

 _(a) Describe an experimental procedure that could be used to answer questions (1) and (2) above. In your description, state the measurements you would make and how you would use the equipment to make them. Include a neat, labeled diagram of your setup._

 _(b) Explain how data from the experiment you described can be used to answer question (1) above and explain how data from the experiment you described can be used to answer question (2) above._

Fluttershy was pleased with the difficultly of the questions that were selected for them today. She didn't mind the easy physics questions and found it pleasantful that she didn't need to use much of her brain power to answer them. She set out to work, drawing a diagram on the board. She began drawing a circuit in which the power source, resistor, and the light bulb mentioned before, were all wired in a series circuit. She then drew one ammeter that was connected to the bulb in the series. She then drew in a voltmeter that was connected to the bulb via a parallel circuit and then finished off by measuring the current entering and leaving the bulb with the ammeters, answering the first sub-question, and then began measuring the potential difference across the bulb with the voltmeter, answering the second sub-question. She then set out for her explanations on the bottom of the diagrams and measurements.

 _If the current is the same on both sides of the bulb, then the number of electrons per second entering and leaving the bulb is the same and if the potential difference across the bulb is not zero, then the electrons that leave the bulb have different electric potential energy than electrons that enter it._

Again, Fluttershy was pleased with herself and how she responded. She then looked towards the third question and read it to herself.

 _A block of mass m is projected up from the bottom of an inclined ramp with an initial velocity of magnitude 0v. The ramp has negligible friction and makes an angle q with the horizontal. A motion sensor aimed down the ramp is mounted at the top of the incline so that the positive direction is down the ramp. The block starts a distance D from the motion sensor, as shown above. The block slides partway up the ramp, stops before reaching the sensor, and then slides back down._

 _Consider the motion of the block at some time t after it has been projected up the ramp. Express your answers in terms of m, D, 0v , t, q and physical constants, as appropriate._

 _i. Determine the acceleration a of the block._

 _ii. Determine an expression for the velocity v of the block._

 _iii. Determine an expression for the position x of the block._

Fluttershy smiled, then set out to work on the last problem. She began by answering the first question, which involved Newton's second law.

 _Fnet = ma_

 _mg_ sin _q = ma_

 _a = g_ sin _q_

Fluttershy then began answering the second sub-question and started to determine an expression for the velocity of the block now.

 _v2 = v1 + at_

 _v = -v0 + (g_ sin _q)t_

Upon deriving the expression, Fluttershy moved on to the final sub-question for the question. Rereading the question, she began to determine an expression for the position of the block. It took her a bit longer to figure out a formula, but Fluttershy was able to do it in due time.

 _x = x0 + v1t + .5at2_

 _x = D - v0t + .5(g_ sin _q)t2_

Upon completion of the last expression, Fluttershy put down her chalk and faced the judges. She had finished the physics portion first and was proud of herself and how she did. As she waited for Sugarcoat to finish - who was struggling with the final question - Fluttershy smiled to herself some more.

 _I knew the answers, too._ Fluttershy thought happily.

* * *

After proving her point in the physics portion of the decathlon, Fluttershy was greeted with cheers from Canterlot High's alumni. Sugarcoat, on the other hand, was left in defeat and was being treated with the cold shoulder, courtesy of the Crystal Prep alumni; talk about déjà vú.

All in all, it was shaping up to be a good decathlon for the Canterlot alumni; they seemed to have the upper hand, and they knew it. As the students and alumni waited for the next leg of the decathlon, they began chatting amongst each other on a game plan for the last four legs, despite not knowing the events.

"We need to be sharp, calm, collective, and precise," Sunset Shimmer said, "this is our chance to beat Crystal Prep once and for all and redeem ourselves for the outcome throughout the years."

"We got this, Sunset," Rainbow Dash smirked. She pointed at the Crystal Preppers across from them, "Just look at them!"

The group ignored the motion and kept up the pep talk. "We need to focus and win, everyone." Sunset Shimmer repeated.

Principal Celestia approached the group and singled out Fluttershy. "What an intelligent physics professor, Fluttershy."

"Thank you, Principal Celestia," replied Fluttershy, blushing a bit, "but those were an easy set of physics questions."

The group, Principal Celestia included, shockingly stared at a smiling Fluttershy. She saw this and addressed them all again.

"Easy is as easy does," she said. It shocked everyone that she was the one to say that.

* * *

After another short intermission, the seventh leg of the decathlon was set to begin. This leg, wood shop, was to pit Rainbow Dash and Applejack against Shining Armor and Indigo Zap. The objective, a simple objective, was to construct a small birdhouse as quickly and sturdily as possible within the allowed time limit, which was thirty minutes.

When Principal Celestia started the leg, Rainbow Dash quickly started drawing up some plans while Applejack went to gather the necessary tools and equipment for them. Shining Armor did the same for Crystal Prep while Indigo Zap drew up her plans.

The duo for Canterlot High quickly set out to work on their wooden birdhouse, cutting pieces, measuring precise measurements for themselves, and starting to put the pieces together. The construction itself didn't take long - about fifteen minutes - but it was proving to be tough since resources were scarce.

As for Shining Armor and Indigo Zap, they had a picture set and stuck with it, creating, constructing, and crafting their ideal birdhouse. It took them all of ten minutes to conjure up a set of blueprints and another ten to construct the birdhouse. The final ten minutes were used to make sure that the birdhouse was indeed safe and sturdy.

Time was called shortly thereafter and the dual teams set out their creations proudly before the judges. It was a tough thirty minutes, but what was done was done. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were the first team to be judged and, since they were being judged primarily on three items, the judging wasn't as long as some of the previous legs were. Once complete, Principal Celestia and Principal Cinch wrote down some notes on their clipboards and then moved on to judge Shining Armor and Indigo Zap on their birdhouse. The total time for judging only took about fifteen minutes between both teams. Once things were complete, everyone was shown back into the hallway and guided into the auditorium. Taking seats on opposite ends, Canterlot High School alumni and Crystal Prep alumni all glanced at the stage to see Principal Celestia up at the microphone, beginning to address them.

"Moving along now," she began, "we begin the eighth leg of the decathlon: the Spelling Bee."

Principal Cinch came up from behind Principal Celestia and addressed the crowd herself. "As you all know, six students from either side will be competing against not only the opposing team, but each other as well in a series of rigorous word spelling and punctuality. Whoever is left last from either side will be the two competitors that move on to the last two legs of the decathlon, both of which happen to be mathematics."

Principal Celestia stepped down from the stage, as did Principal Cinch. They went over to their respective sides and began picking out alumni to represent their school. After both sides were picked, the teams stepped onto the stage with their principals. They were introduced to the crowd one-by-one, starting with Crystal Prep.

"Representing Crystal Prep Academy will be the following students," Principal Cinch smirked, pointing towards her selected six, "Shining Armor, Cadance, Lunar Nights, Sugarcoat, Moonlight Sonata, and Indigo Zap."

The auditorium was relatively silent as the alumni from Crystal Prep proceeded to sit down on their end of the stage. Meanwhile, Principal Celestia approached the microphone and started introducing her six selected alumni.

"Representing Canterlot High School," she began, "we have: Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity."

The auditorium bursted into cheers and applause for Canterlot High's alumni choice. It was a tough choice for Principal Celestia to make - considering the fact that there were seven possible choices - and the final choice option was left a bit sad, but understood how hard it was to make. Applejack, cheering from the sidelines, stood by her other unselected alumni and watched the spelling bee from the crowd with them.

Sitting down at center table, Principal Celestia, Principal Cinch, and Vice Principal Luna all started the spelling bee and allowed Crystal Prep to go first. Shining Armor was first up and Principal Celestia officially started the bee.

"Shining Armor," Principal Celestia smiled, "your word is: Aberration."

"Aberration," Shining Armor repeated, clearing his throat, "A-B-E-R-R-A-T-I-O-N. Aberration."

"That is correct." Principal Celestia responded.

Shining Armor then went back to his seat while Sunset Shimmer came up to the microphone. She stared at the judges and awaited for her word.

"Sunset Shimmer," Principal Cinch said, "your word is: Abscission."

"Abscission: A-B-S-C-I-S-S-I-O-N. Abscission."

"Correct."

Sunset Shimmer was pleased with herself, then went to sit back down, paving the way for Crystal Prep's Dean Cadance. She stood proudly at the microphone, waiting for her word.

"Cadance, your word is: Buoy."

"Buoy: B-O-U-Y. Buoy." Cadance then realized how she spelt it and gasped. "I meant 'U-O'!"

"We can only take it the first time, Cadance," Vice Principal Luna reminded.

"Sorry, but that's incorrect." Principal Celestia added, feeling bad for Cadance.

Dean Cadance, ashamed with herself for how she misspelt an easy word, proceeded off of the stage and sat with the other alumni from Crystal Prep, heavily receiving the cold shoulder from them. Twilight also felt bad, but went up to the microphone to wait for her word to spell.

"Twilight," Principal Cinch said, hints of sarcasm and jealousy sounding in her voice, "you word is: Cardiopulmonary." Cinch purposely gave Twilight a harder word; she wasn't too happy when she transferred to the enemy school.

Twilight smiled brightly. "Cardiopulmonary: C-A-R-D-I-O-P-U-L-M-O-N-A-R-Y. Cardiopulmonary."

"Correct."

Twilight walked back to her chair while Lunar walked up to the mic, waiting for his word.

"Lunar Night, your word is: Censer."

"Can you use it in a sentence?" Lunar asked.

"Incense is burned in a censer container."

"Censer: C-E-N-S-E-R. Censer."

"Correct."

Lunar smirked, then sat back down. Fluttershy was next up.

"Fluttershy, your word is: Facsimile."

"Facsimile: F-A-C-S-I-M-I-L-E. Facsimile."

"Correct."

Next up was Sugarcoat.

"Sugarcoat, your word is: Eloquence."

"Eloquence: E-L-O-Q-U-E-N-C-E. Eloquence."

"Correct."

Sugarcoat smirked, knowing she was right. She sat back down and allowed Rainbow Dash to come forward.

"Rainbow Dash, your word is: Gerrymander."

"Gerrymander: J-E-R-R-Y-M-A-N-D-E-R. Gerrymander."

"Incorrect."

"What!?" Rainbow Dash responded in shock, leaving the stage to sit down with her alumni.

Cheerilee sat up and whispered to Rainbow Dash that gerrymander was spelt with a G and not a J. Rainbow Dash covered her face with her hands and slouched in her chair, embarrassed that she got a word wrong by one letter. She watched on as it was now Moonlight Sonata's turn to spell a word.

"Moonlight Sonata, your word is: Handwrought."

"Can you use that in a sentence?"

"A metal knife is often handwrought by a person instead of by a machine."

"Handwrought," continued Moonlight, "H-A-N-D-..." She didn't know what letter it was that came next.

"Three seconds," alerted Principal Celestia.

Moonlight gulped. "Handwrought: H-A-N-D-...R-O-U-G-H-T...? Handwrought...?"

"Incorrect."

Moonlight looked down as she stepped off the stage. It was now Pinkie Pie's turn.

"Pinkie Pie, your word is: Gnash."

"Oh that's easy," Pinkie Pie smirked, "N-A-S-H. Gnash."

"...Incorrect."

"Oh yea-WHAT!?" Pinkie was shocked. She stepped off the stage in total rebuttal and embarrassment.

"Indigo Zap, your word is: Idyll."

"Can you use it in as sentence?"

"There is one idyll scene in 'Romeo & Juliet' that stands out the most."

"Idyll: I-D-Y-L-L. Idyll."

"Correct."

Indigo Zap smirked, then sat back down, making way for Rarity.

"Rarity, your word is: Impetuous."

"Impetuous: I-M-P-E-T-U-O-U-S. Impetuous."

"Correct."

Rarity smiled happily, then sat back down. It was time for Shining Armor to return to the microphone once more.

"Shining Armor, your second word is: Impromptu."

"Impromptu: I-M-P-R-O-M-P-T-U. Impromptu."

"Correct."

It was now Sunset Shimmer's turn again.

"Sunset Shimmer, your word is: Kaiser."

"Kaiser: K-A-I-S-E-R. Kaiser."

"Correct."

Lunar Nights was up again now.

"Lunar Nights, your word is: Isthmus."

"Isthmus: I-S-T-H-M-U-S. Isthmus."

"Correct."

Twilight's turn came again.

"Twilight, your word is: Juxtaposition."

"Juxtaposition: J-U-X-T-A-P-O-S-I-T-I-O-N. Juxtaposition."

"Correct."

Sugarcoat was up again.

"Sugarcoat, your word is: Muenster."

"Muenster: M-U-N-S-T-E-R. Muenster."

"Incorrect."

As Sugarcoat shook her head and walked off the stage, Fluttershy came up to the microphone.

"Fluttershy, your word is: Slough [sloo]."

"Slough: S-L-O-O...?"

"Three seconds."

"S-L-O-..."

"Two...one..."

Fluttershy didn't know how her word was spelt and ran out of time. She walked off the stage while Indigo Zap approached the microphone again.

"Indigo Zap, your word is: Sovereign."

"Sovereign: S-O-V-R-E-I-G-N. Sovereign."

"Incorrect."

"Darn..." Indigo Zap sighed as she walked off of the stage.

Rarity approached the microphone once more.

"Rarity, your word is: Subpoena."

"Subpoena: S-U-B-P-O-..."

"Three seconds."

"P-O-...N-A...?"

"Incorrect."

Rarity shook her head as well as she left the stage, allowing Shining Armor to step up to the mic for his third word.

"Shining Armor, your next word is: Vehemence."

"Vehemence: V-E-H-E-M-E-N-C-E. Vehemence."

"Correct."

Shining Armor smirked, then sat back down. Sunset Shimmer came up next.

"Sunset, your word is: Wrack."

"Wrack: R-A-C-K. Wrack."

"Incorrect."

"Shoot..." replied Sunset Shimmer as she left the stage.

Lunar came up next.

"Lunar, your word is: Autochthonous."

"What?"

"Autochthonous." repeated Principal Celestia.

"...I give up."

"Okay..." Principal Celestia said, confused.

"That leaves us with Twilight Sparkle of Canterlot High School and Shining Armor of Crystal Prep Academy for the final two legs of the decathlon." Vice Principal Luna announced.

"Good job to everyone in the spelling bee," commended Principal Celestia, "we'll take a short break before starting the final two legs of the decathlon here Inn the auditorium."

Shining Armor smirked and glanced at his younger sister. He pointed at her. "I'll be the one who'll win, Twily. Don't forget that."

"I'll be sure to beat you, big brother." A confident Twilight replied.

Sibling battles for the final two legs of the first event of the Friendship Games: Alumni Edition. What could go wrong?

* * *

There was a short intermission as Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and Principal Cinch got the stage ready for the final legs of the decathlon. It was now down to Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor and a real sibling rivalry would prove to be imminent. After falling in the last round, Sunset Shimmer and her friends cheered on Twilight from the audience. They knew she was incredibly intelligent, but they didn't know how Shining Armor was compared to her. Twilight looked confident on the outside, but what she felt on the inside was a whole different story.

On the inside, Twilight felt nervous and was worried that she would have a nervous breakdown and cause her to mess up in the final portion of the decathlon. It didn't help her at all that the last two legs were rested on her shoulders for all of Canterlot High to witness and this made her even more nervous. Shining Armor, on the other hand, was all confident in himself that he would be able to defeat his younger sister since he knew almost everything she knew. Almost.

After the short intermission, two chalkboards were brought onto the stage for the ninth leg of the decathlon, which was set to be algebra; basic math problems, really. A chair was set aside next to both chalkboards for Shining Armor and Twilight to take a seat in while they waited. Principal Celestia walked up to the microphone and addressed the audience as addressed whole.

"Ladies, gentlemen, faculty, and students," she began, "we welcome you back from our short intermission and gladly welcome you to the ninth leg of the Academic Decathlon, Algebra!"

"In this leg of the decathlon," Principal Cinch added from another microphone on the opposite end of the stage, "our remaining two competitors will answer one algebra question each. Whichever one answers it correctly wins the round. If in the event there is a tie, whoever answered the question first will be declared the winner."

"Are both competitors ready?" Principal Celestia asked.

"Ready!" Twilight replied.

"Ready." Shining Armor added.

"Then let the ninth leg of the decathlon begin!" Principal Celestia declared.

Vice Principal Luna, who was standing in between the two chalkboards, pulled off the covering from both boards and revealed the question that had to between answered by Twilight and Shining Armor. The question read: What is the reduced form of √(18(x^9)(y^16))?

Immediately, both Twilight and Shining Armor went to work on the problem and as quickly as possible. Twilight computed the answer and transferred that to the chalkboard within seconds. As for Shining Armor, he had a bit more trouble answering the question, primarily because he has been out of school for a longer time than Twilight has been; about four more years than her, to be exact.

Twilight wrote down her answer - 3(x^4)(y^8)(√2x) - on the chalkboard, then faced the judges. Shining Armor wrote down his answer - 3(x^4)(y^8)(√2) - then also faced the judges. Carefully analyzing the answers, Principal Cinch walked up in between the two siblings and faced their chalkboards. After tense silence, she pointed to Shining Armor's chalkboard and remained even more silent for an added dramatic effect.

"Incorrect." She finally said.

Twilight smiled while Shining Armor frowned, then their two proceeded to erase their chalkboards. They eagerly awaited for the last leg of the decathlon, which was said to be geometry. After declaring Twilight the winner of the Algebra portion of the decathlon, Principal Celestia walked back up on stage and proceeded to cover the chalkboards. She then began writing down the last question for both Shining Armor and Twilight while Principal Cinch introduced the last section of the decathlon.

"On to the final legs of this decathlon: Geometry." Principal Cinch declared. "Students will answer one question on their own and whoever gets it right first will be the winner."

Principal Celestia smiled, then removed herself from the stage. Both chalkboards were still covered up and the question wasn't visible just yet. Principal Cinch then asked if the competitors were ready for the final leg of the decathlon.

"Ready!" An eager Twilight anticipated.

"Ready." A humble Shining Armor added.

"Then let the last event begin!" Principal Cinch announced as Vice Principal Luna removed the coverings to unveil the final question.

It was a triangle question and it read: Find Angle X in Triangle ADE. The question had a diagram where Triangle ABC was the largest triangle there and had some set angles for a few, smaller triangles. Twilight set out to work immediately on the puzzle where the missing angle was part of one of the smaller triangles. As for Shining Armor, he started on a macro level and opted to work to the micro stages. Twilight worked in the opposite order.

"So, the three angles to Triangle ADB are 80 degrees, 60 degrees and an unknown assailant." Twilight began. She worked from the small picture, outward and was able to determine the final angle in the triangle based off of common knowledge of triangles. "The last angle is 40 degrees. Now for the other one."

Working quickly, Twilight drew another vector and labeled an intersection point, Point F. She began searching for the three angles in Triangles ADF and BFE, finding their respective angles with much ease.

"The three angles on Triangles ADF and BFE are 10, 40, and 130 degrees and 20, 30, and 130 degrees for each respective triangle. Triangle AFB is 50, 60, and 70 degrees respectively and Triangle ABC is an isosceles triangle with two 80 degree vectors and one 20 degree one. As for Triangle AEC, the two known angles are 10 and 20, leaving the final angle to be 150."

Twilight conducted a few more calculations and eventually wound up with angles answer. However, the answer wasn't one that was sitting well with her.

"How is this possible?" She asked herself.

The final answer she got for the unknown angle was 110 degrees, which didn't sink right away because of how the angle was drawn in the original picture. The answer Twilight got was an answer with an obtuse angle; the angle drawn on the board was that of an acute angle.

"This doesn't make sense..." She muttered. She glanced over towards Shining Armor and saw that he was a bit befuddled as well with the perplexing answer, although she wasn't sure if he got to the same conclusion as she did.

Laying it all on the line, Twilight hesitantly put down her chalk and turned around to face the judges. She was an bit nervous with her answer, but was confident in her mathematical abilities. Shining Armor turned around moments later and the moment of truth had come to arrive. Upon quick glance again, Twilight saw that Shining Armor wrote down 20 degrees and gasped. She was now unsure of who had the correct answer.

Principal Cinch walked onto the stage and overlooked both Twilight's work and Shining Armor's work on the chalkboards. She stared long and hard at them, then stood in the middle of them both. She pointed to Shining Armor and his answer and paused for what seemed like an eternity for an added effect.

"Incorrect." Principal Cinch finally mustered.

Both Twilight and Shining Armor were left in a confused state.

"What?" They both stated.

"Twilight Sparkle's answer is correct," Principal Cinch explained, "unfortunately, Shining Armor, yours is not."

"How can that be?" Shining Armor asked. He looked at Twilight's answer and was even more disgruntled. "That answer doesn't even make sense for the angle that was asked for."

"Normally, yes." agreed Principal Cinch, but she them pointed to a sentence that haunts many children that was written below the original diagram on their boards. "But the original triangle was not drawn to scale, so the answer makes sense in this case."

"Not drawn to-" Twilight looked at the sentence and it never registered to her that her answer may or may not make sense. She breathed a long sigh of relief when she read that and it had finally registered with her.

"Good job, Twily," Shining Armor said, hugging his little sister. Deep down, he sincerely felt a bit bitter.

Twilight smiled, then acknowledged Shining Armor's kind words. "Thanks, Shining Armor."

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna then began walking onto the stage to address everyone that was in the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen," began Principal Celestia, "this brings our Academic Decathlon to a close."

There was an small pause for the applause made by the audience in the auditorium. Once things silenced a bit, Vice Principal Luna continued on with the announcement.

"Twilight Sparkle is the winner of the decathlon." She declared. There was another pause as the audience cheered for Twilight while she waved at the crowd.

"After careful tally of the scores throughout the round," continued Principal Celestia, "the six alumni that will move on to the next round are: Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy!"

The crowd cheered for the six alumni that were to move on to round 2 and represent Canterlot High School. Even Pinkie Pie, who wasn't chosen by a mere hundredth of a point, was cheering for her friends as she would continue to support them from the stands instead of from the field.

As Principal Cinch approached the microphone, she addressed the crowd as well and listed her six alumni that would be moving on to round 2 as well.

"Going up against Canterlot High's six chosen alumni will be these following alumni from Crystal Prep," announced Principal Cinch. She began reading off a set of names from her clipboard, "Shining Armor, Sugarcoat, Lunar Nights, Cadance, Indigo Zap, and Moonlight Sonata."

The crowd cheered happily for the six chosen alumni that would represent Crystal Prep in round 2 of the Friendship Games, which was ironic considering their current location. Once the cheering stopped, Principal Celestia came back up to the microphone to address everyone once more.

"Would everyone please report to the field outside for round 2 of the Friendship Games," she said, following it up quickly, "and would the 12 alumni that were chosen please report to their respective principals? Thank you."

Principal Cinch left the stage to greet her chosen alumni, as did Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. First and foremost, the two sisters congratulated the chosen alumni, then quickly addressed the others.

"We're sorry that you didn't quite make it to the next round, Pinkie Pie," Principal Celestia stated.

"It's okay," smiled Pinkie Pie, hugging her friends tightly, "that just means that I'll have to cheer super duper loudly for all my friends!"

Principal Celestia smirked. "Touching."

"It is!" Pinkie Pie agreed.

Principal Celestia nodded, then moved on to the six chosen ones. "Things are going to be a bit different in the next round than when you girls last participated in the games."

"Different how?" Rainbow Dash asked, quizzical look and whatnot.

Principal Celestia chuckled slightly before escorting everyone out onto the playing field. "You'll find out in due time, Rainbow Dash."

* * *

After the Academic Decathlon came to a riveting finish and the alumni that moved on to round 2 of the Friendship Games were announced, everyone made their way towards the field outside the school. Everyone was excited about the next couple events, especially since this was the first time ever that Canterlot High School left the first round with the lead. Outside the school on the field were three sections to round 2. These sections consisted of slightly different events than the last time any of them played in the games. Today's sections were: archery, skeet shooting, and finally speed skating. The last time any of the alumni did this round, there was motocross involved instead of skeet shooting, but thanks to a slight mishap with the schools, skeet shooting became today's second event instead of motocross being the final event. As the alumni from both schools made their way onto the field, they separated and flocked over to their respective principals to be assigned legs to participate in.

"Okay, everyone," Principal Celestia called, "gather around."

The six chosen alumni for Canterlot High gathered around Principal Celestia, awaiting for their orders. Principal Celestia glanced around at everyone, formulating a plan to use in an attempt to put away Crystal Prep in the second round. She smiled, then addressed everyone at once.

"Okay," she smiled, "so things are just a bit different than last time for all of you. As you can see, there is no motocross track this year. Instead, we have skeet shooting. Do any of you girls know what skeet shooting is?"

"It's when a clay plate is flung into the air and someone shoots it down with a shotgun," answered Rainbow Dash, "it was one of my favorite events to watch growing up with my father."

"Exactly, Rainbow Dash," nodded Principal Celestia, "now, an awkward question, but who here knows how to handle a shotgun?"

"I do!" called Rainbow Dash.

"Anyone else?"

"I guess that I can try it out, Principal Celestia," Applejack volunteered.

"Alright," sighed Principal Celestia, "now as for the other two events…"

"I can take archery, Principal Celestia," Twilight smiled.

"Me too," added Fluttershy.

"Good," Principal Celestia smiled, "so that leaves Sunset Shimmer and Rarity for the speed skating part. I think that's a good matchup, don't you?"

"It's a great one, Principal Celestia," declared Sunset Shimmer.

As Canterlot High prepped for their approach to the second round, Principal Cinch did the same, setting up her chosen alumni for the best possible matchups.

"For the skeet shooting," Principal Cinch began, "Shining Armor and Lunar Nights shall represent Crystal Prep. As for the speed skating, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat have requested that and their request shall be granted. That leaves Cadance and Moonlight Sonata with the archery. I trust that you'll be able to pull your weight on the archery, ladies."

"We will," they answered back.

"Then it's settled then." Principal Cinch smirked. She gathered her chosen alumni closers to her. "Do anything that it takes for us to win. Playing dirty will give us an advantage over those goody-goody two shoes Canterlot High has."

Her alumni all agreed and smirked slyly at Principal Cinch, who excused herself to sit down in the booth with Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. Once everyone was ready, Vice Principal Luna rose from her seat and approached the microphone that was positioned next to her.

"Welcome, everyone, to the second round of this year's Friendship Games!" Vice Principal Luna announced, receiving a hefty amount of applause in response. "In this round, the alumni chosen from round one will compete in a race against each other through three events: archery, skeet shooting, and speed skating. The alumni will start with archery, then proceed to skeet shooting once both members of the school have completed the event prior. If both schools and alumni are ready to begin, then let the games begin!"

A horn sounded off somewhere and the second round got underway. Twilight and Moonlight Sonata then rushed forward and huddled over the first barrier, a stack of hay. Moonlight Sonata more jumped over the stack of hay whereas Twilight casually climbed over it. When Moonlight arrived at the platform to shoot the arrows from, she shot one arrow and was able to hit the target easily in the middle. She smiled, then gave Cadance the okay for her to go forward through the obstacles. As for Twilight, she just got to the platform and started to fire off some arrows at her target, although she was missing quite a lot.

"C'mon, Twilight," she told herself, "you can do this."

She took in a deep breath, then fired off her final arrow. The arrow soared through the air and managed to strike the target in the center. Twilight beamed with delight, then gave Fluttershy the okay to start the obstacle course. Fluttershy rushed forward and gently climbed over the stacks of hay that lay in the way.

Cadance reached the platform shortly after Fluttershy started her attempt at the event. She took aim at the moving target and fired off an arrow, which missed. Fluttershy was slowly catching up to her and Cadance knew she had to hurry if she wanted Crystal Prep to come out victorious. She fired off another arrow at the target and managed to hit it, but not in the center, the required area. Fluttershy reached the platform and began firing some arrows herself, missing the target as well. It was now becoming a race to see who would nail the target first, but both parties kept missing. At long last, on her final arrow, Cadance managed to finally hit the center of the target and felt relieved. She looked over to Shining Armor and Lunar Nights, giving them the all-year to start the skeet shooting. As for Fluttershy, she hit the target seconds after Cadance did and gave the all-year to Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

Now came the problem: both teams were at the skeet shooting event together and there was only one station, making things completely unfair for the other team. Seeing this, Principal Celestia addressed the crowd and told them that both side would take turns shooting the clay discs out of the air and that the first side to hit three discs in consecutive order would be allowed to move on to the speed skating. Since Crystal Prep finished the archery first, they were allowed to shoot first. Shining Armor grabbed the shotgun first and positioned himself to take his first shot.

"Pull!"

The machine swung a clay disc into the air at a high velocity. Aiming at the disc, Shining Armor took his first shot, but missed the disc as it kept gliding through the air, hitting the ground some ways away. Shining Armor was disappointed in himself, missing the shot, and made way for Rainbow Dashes first attempt. He left the shotgun on the table in front of him, positioning the barrel towards the field away from everyone else. Rainbow Dash stepped up and set herself up, prepping for her first shot.

"Pull!"

Rainbow Dash watched the position of the disc as it glided through the air. She took aim and shot the shotgun, hitting the disc and shattering it in the air. Rainbow Dash received a rousing amount of applause and she smirked, pleased with her performance. She left the gun on the table and allowed Lunar Nights to step up and take aim at a new disc.

"Pull!"

The machine shot out another orange colored disc and sent it gliding through the air. Lunar took aim at the disc and fired the shotgun, pulverizing the disc in the air. It left a small cloud of orange dust as it shattered, leaving Lunar feeling content with himself. He stepped away, making way for Applejack and her first attempt.

"Pull!"

Applejack, driven by the fact that she had to perform as well as Rainbow Dash, quickly took aim at the disc and fired at it. She managed to clip the disc moments after it was launched into the air. She glanced back at Rainbow Dash and smirked at her. She placed the fun back on the table and stepped back towards her, whispering to her.

"Bet you'll miss your next target." Applejack challenged.

"I bet you'll miss your next target," Rainbow Dash slyly replied.

Shining Armor approached the table again and slowed his breathing. He called for the disc to be thrown again and this time he aimed just in front of the disc. As soon as he fired the weapon, he saw the disc slightly change trajectory, but wasn't too sure if he made contact with it or not. He looked back for a confirmation from Vice Principal Luna, the judge of the skeet shooting, and waited for a response. Vice Principal Luna glanced at the disc through a set of binoculars and studied it closely. She noticed that a small piece of the disc was broken off and concluded that the bullet Shining Armor fired from the gun made contact with the disc; albeit slight contact, but contact nonetheless.

"The disc was shattered by the bullet!" Vice Principal Luna announced. "Shining Armor made contact."

Shining Armor let out a sigh of relief, leaving the gun on the table and stepping back for Rainbow Dash.

"Pull!"

The disc was fired out of the machine and Rainbow Dash took aim at it. She fired the gun and slammed the disc with the bullet, shattering it to pieces. She turned around at Applejack and stuck her tongue playfully out at her.

"Told ya I'd hit it," she smirked.

Lunar Nights once again stepped up to the table and took aim with the gun.

"Pull!"

The disc fired through the air and Lunar immediately shot it down, placing the gun down seemingly as he shot it. He turned around and smirked slyly at Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

"Can't do that as fast as I can," he boasted.

Applejack took no notice to it, but Lunar's boasting was bothering Rainbow Dash very much. She wanted to get back at Lunar for his boasting. Applejack stepped back up to the table and took out a blindfold. She blindfolded herself and took a deep breath.

"Pull!"

The disc fired into the air and Applejack miraculously followed it. She fired the gun and blasted the disc into pieces. After shattering the disc, she took off the blindfold and received plenty of cheers and applause for her daring act. She stared back at Lunar and smirked at him.

"Can't do that like I can, buddy," she laughed, high-fiving Rainbow Dash.

"That's the AJ I remember!" Rainbow Dash shouted proudly.

Shining Armor shook his head and stepped up to the table once more. He gripped the barrel of the shotgun and slowed his breathing.

"Pull!"

The disc fired through the air again and Shining Armor took aim at it. He pulled the trigger and missed the target. Shining Armor let out a disgruntled sigh and stepped back from the table. Rainbow Dash, more confident now that Shining Armor failed to convert again, stepped back up to the table and took aim.

"Pull!"

The machine shot the disc through the air and Rainbow Dash took aim at it, following it closely. She slowed her breathing, then pulled the trigger. She smiled when she saw the results. She set the gun down and turned to Applejack.

"No pressure, AJ," she said.

Lunar stepped back up to the table and still felt the after effects of Applejack last attempt; her blindfold attempt. He took aim and then started to slow his breathing.

"Pull!"

The disc was then fired into the air and as Lunar watched it, he couldn't find himself to pull the trigger. Just before the disc hit the ground again, Lunar finally fired the gun, but at that point, the disc was too far out of range. Lunar held his head low as he turned around and walked back to the side.

"Let's finish this, Dash," Applejack said, stepping up to the table. "Pull!"

Applejack took aim at the disc and fired as quickly as possible. It wasn't a good shot, but the bullet still managed to hit the disc; albeit a light hit. She smirked, then turned around.

"Looks like we win." Applejack boasted.

But there was still one leg left to go for Crystal Prep to mount a comeback: speed skating.

Moving forward from the skeet shooting, Canterlot High's final two alumni - Sunset Shimmer and Rarity - skated onto the track to start the race. As for Crystal Prep's alumni - Shining Armor and Lunar Nights - they had to speed through the rest of the skeet shooting. They had already fallen behind, but now it was imperative that they catch up.

Shining Armor successfully shot the next three discs down, as did Lunar, over the course of the next ten minutes. Unfortunately for them and for Crystal Prep, they were already behind Canterlot High by five laps out of ten. For them to make a comeback now, a drastic catastrophe would have to happen for Canterlot High.

As soon as Lunar Nights shot down the last disc for Crystal Prep, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat bolted out of the starting gate and tried speeding their way back into the competition. Sunset Shimmer noticed the speed Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat were approaching them and moved out of the way so they could pass by. Nothing went noticed as the two Crystal Prep alumni whizzed past by the two Canterlot High alumni.

As both schools crossed the line to begin the next lap, Canterlot High School had a monumentous 6 lap to 1 lap lead over Crystal Prep, although Crystal Prep was whizzing by and speeding through the lap as if it were nothing to them at all. Within a couple of minutes, Crystal Prep had completed their second lap and were closing the gap between them and Canterlot High.

Before long, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat were closing in on Sunset Shimmer and Rarity once again. The lap total now was 7 to 2, in favor of Canterlot High. Canterlot High School only needed to complete three more laps to take the win in the second round of the Friendship Games and win the entire games all together. As Indigo Zap rushed next to Sunset Shimmer on her left side, Sugarcoat rolled up against Sunset Shimmer on her right side and, together, made the motion as if they were trying to bump Sunset Shimmer, although no contact was made.

Sunset Shimmer, however, jerked slightly to the left, away from Sugarcoat's attempted bump. She then lost her balance and nearly fell over on top of Indigo Zap, who managed to skate away at the last second to avoid collision. Sunset Shimmer fell over on the ground and banged her knee up badly against the concrete. As Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat rolled away, rapidly closing the gap, Rarity turned around and rolled back to Sunset Shimmer. She reached out to her to see if she was okay, but Sunset Shimmer didn't respond. She held her leg tightly, trying to ease the pain away, but to no avail.

"Can you stand, dear?" Rarity asked, kneeling down on one knee and next to Sunset Shimmer.

"No!" cried Sunset Shimmer in response. The pain was starting to become unbearable.

Rarity turned to find Principal Celestia in an attempt to call her over. In the meantime, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat continued skating around, now on their fourth lap to Canterlot's seventh. They were closing the gap faster now that Sunset Shimmer had been injured. Principal Cinch saw what the girls did and hid a smile away from Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. She also saw how Rarity was trying to call Principal Celestia and alerted her.

"Principal Celestia," Principal Cinch called, "I do believe that your student is trying to call you over to her."

Principal Celestia looked over and saw Rarity calling her. She got up from her chair as quickly as possible and started making her way towards Rarity. As she drew closer to them, she began noticing that Sunset Shimmer was on the ground, agonizing in pain, while Sugarcoat and Indigo Zap rolled passed the two stopped alumni again. Principal Celestia stopped next to Sunset Shimmer and helped her out.

"What happened, Sunset?" She asked.

Sunset Shimmer looked towards Sugarcoat and Indigo Zap as they passed by again. She pointed to Sugarcoat, and explained to Principal Celestia how she was pushed down as they passed by the first time.

"A bit of unsportsmanlike conduct, Principal Celestia," Rarity said.

With a stern face, Principal Celestia looked back towards Principal Cinch and then back at Sunset Shimmer and Rarity again. She spoke softly to them, telling them that she'll talk to Principal Cinch as soon as she gets back to her seat. She reached out to Sunset Shimmer and began helping her onto her feet, but Sunset Shimmer couldn't put any weight on her knee. Principal Celestia called for Vice Principal Luna to come over as well and help out with Sunset Shimmer.

As Vice Prinicpal Luna approached Sunset Shimmer and Principal Celestia, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat coasted passed the finish line. The race had ended with Crystal Prep winning the event and round, albeit under unsportsmanlike conditions. As for Sunset Shimmer, she was helped onto a stretcher and was taken away from an ambulance that Rarity had called in. Sunset Shimmer was still groveling in pain as she was taken away in the ambulance. Her friends wanted to come along and support her as she dealt with the pain, but just before she left, Sunset Shimmer stopped them and told them to win the games for her and for Canterlot High.

"Are you sure you don't want us to come along, Sunset?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm sure," Sunset Shimmer replied through her pain, "just beat Crystal Prep for me."

"We will, dear," Rarity answered.

Sunset Shimmer smiled as the doors to the back of the ambulance were shut. Her friends all watched the ambulance roll away towards the hospital until it was finally out of sight. Principal Celestia came back to everyone and alerted them that someone had to take Sunset Shimmer's spot on the team of six and, since Pinkie Pie was the seventh best on the team, she decided that it would be her.

"But what about the race?" Rarity asked.

"I asked Principal Cinch and as we watched the race over again, while making the gestures, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat never physically touched Sunset Shimmer." Principal Celestia sighed. "They didn't technically push Sunset Shimmer down, although I believe you girls more than I believe Principal Cinch."

"So now what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We have to play the final event: The Pennant Hunt." Principal Celestia answered.

"But it's not fair!" protested Rainbow Dash. "They should have been disqualified! Were it the students, that's how it would have ended!"

"Calm down, Rainbow Dash," Principal Celestia called, "I know how you feel and I would want them to disqualify themselves as well, but since no contact was made, there's nothing I can do."

Rainbow Dash tried fighting back verbally, but was shut up by Applejack covering her mouth. She shot a mean look at Applejack and expected an explanation.

"Calm down, Dash," Applejack said.

"Mnd why sould I?" Rainbow Dash asked through her covered mouth.

"Because if we win this last event," continued Applejack, "then we can win it for Sunset."

The group of rattled friends all exchanged looks between each other. They weren't convinced yet that they should keep playing in the games. Fluttershy looked down in particular and muttered something to herself.

"Sunset would want us to play for her."

Fluttershy tried her best to raise her voice, but was scared of what the others would think of it. Although she tried covering her own voice, it was loud enough for others to hear it and discussion between them began. If Sunset Shimmer were here, she would want them to keep playing, even if she weren't injured. After much discussion, Fluttershy's words had sparked a fire between everyone. They determined that if they were to continue playing the games, it would be for Sunset Shimmer.

"Come on, ladies," Rarity smirked, putting her hand in the center of the circle they had all formed, "let's do this for Sunset Shimmer!"

"For Sunset!" Rainbow Dash called, putting her hand in the center with Rarity.

"For Sunset!" Applejack added, following Rainbow Dash and putting her hand in the center.

"For Sunset!" Pinkie Pie beamed, adding her hand to the center.

"For Sunset!" Twilight repeated, following everyone's notion.

"For Sunset!" Fluttershy concluded, putting her hand in the center.

"We can do this, ladies," Rarity continued, "we will emerge victorious for the sake of Sunset Shimmer."

"Yeah!"

"Come on, everybody," Rainbow Dash smiled, "let's win this together!"

"Yeah!"

The group of six friends all followed one another as they approached Principal Celestia once again. Principal Celestia saw the determination each of them had and knew that they would continue to play in the games. She smiled and began to lead them to the school courtyard in preparations for the final event. In the meantime, Principal Cinch was hiding Canterlot High School's pennant somewhere in the school while Vice Principal Luna was hiding Crystal Prep's pennant somewhere else in the school.

* * *

Lined up on opposite sides, Canterlot High School and Crystal Prep Academy were both eager to start the last event of the Friendship Games. They waited for Principal Cinch to come back outside so that the event could start.

Between themselves, Canterlot High School's alumni all started preparing a plan to conduct while looking for the pennant. Since the school itself was large and different slightly from when they last attended the school - well, most of them, that is. The team split the school into six sections: First floor east, First floor center, First floor west, Second floor east, Second floor center, and Second floor west. They were going to stay in contact via their phones and would alert the others if they found the pennant.

As for Crystal Prep and their alumni, they developed a plan in which they would stick together and search all sections of the school together. They thought that six set of eyes looking around the school for a pennant instead of one set would be more productive that way. They opted to start searching for their pennant on the second floor of the school and work their way down.

At long last, Principal Cinch finally arrived back outside and stepped next to Vice Principal Luna. Principal Celestia saw this and began addressing the crowd, eagerly awaiting to see who would be crowned as the winner of the Friendship Games.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Principal Celestia began, "the final event of the Friendship Games is finally upon us all: The Pennant Hunt!" Principal Celestia paused for a moment of cheers between the two schools before picking back up. "Somewhere on campus, there is a pennant from both schools that is hidden somewhere. The contestants must find their respective pennant and bring it back to the courtyard in order to be named the winner of the round and of the Friendship Games! Note, however, that if you find the other school's pennant, you must leave it alone and move onward. If anyone moves a pennant that is not from their school, their school will be disqualified. If both teams are ready, let the final event begin...now!"

Lowering her hand, Principal Celestia started the final event of the Friendship Games and as both teams rushed inside the school to find their pennant, things were now more heated than when they were in round 2.

"Come on, everyone! Let's find that pennant!"

Rainbow Dash led the group of friends into the school and immediately spread and scattered themselves throughout the school. As for Crystal Prep, they stuck together as a group and ran up the stairs to the second floor. The objective was to find their school's pennant before Canterlot High School did. Should they be the first to find Crystal Prep's pennant, they would win the Friendship Games in comeback style and fashion, something that has never been done before.

As Rainbow Dash ran up the stairs, skipping every other step, she called out to the others on her walkie talkie.

"I'm approaching my section, everyone." She said.

"I'm searching through mine." Applejack replied.

"Proceeding with the search, darling," Rarity added.

"I, uhh, I'm searching," Fluttershy squeaked.

"I'm entering my section now," Pinkie Pie gleefully remarked.

"Proceeding search instruction now." Twilight finished.

"Alright," continued Rainbow Dash, "whoever finds it first, let us know. We'll meet back in the courtyard as quickly as we can."

"Right!" Everyone chimed.

"Okay," said Rainbow Dash, "Dash, out."

Rainbow Dash put away her walkie talkie and began searching in her designated section of the school. It was the largest and most open section of the school, but since Rainbow Dash was a natural athlete, the size didn't seem to bother her at all. She entered the library and started searching all over for the pennant. She searched high and low, across all shelves, carts, desks, and tables, but couldn't seem to locate the missing pennant. She was just about to leave the library until she saw something sticking out of a book from the corner of her eye. Rainbow Dash began jumping with joy when she started getting close to it and saw and small triangle figure sticking out of the book. she pulled out the book and the walkie talkie and was just about to make the announcement to the others when she took an even close look and what she uncovered.

As she opened the book to the page that housed the foreign item, she noticed that this wasn't the right pennant. Rainbow Dash looked longer to make sure she was seeing what she was seeing. She had found Crystal Prep's pennant by accident.

"Uh, guys," Rainbow Dash called over the walkie talkie. She folded the pennant and closed the book shut, making sure it couldn't be seen in an obvious setting. She put the book back on the shelf and ran out of the library.

"What's up, Dash?" Applejack called back.

"I just found Crystal Prep's flag pennant." She alerted them.

"Where?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"In the library." Rainbow Dash whispered.

"We need to hurry then," responded Pinkie Pie, "I just saw them run up the stairs on the far right of the school."

"Then we don't have much time." Rarity stated.

"How y'all doin' with your searches?" Applejack asked. "Ah di'n't find anything in the gym."

"I finished up the library and didn't find anything else there," answered Rainbow Dash, "I'm going to check the math rooms now."

"Nothing in the auditorium." Rarity replied.

"Empty in the science rooms." Twilight added.

"In didn't find anything in the Home Economics rooms." Pinkie Pie said.

"Nothing in the music room." Fluttershy completed.

"Let's move then," Rainbow Dash said, "Crystal Prep is sure to find their pennant if we keep missing ours. Check back with you all in about ten minutes."

"Right." They answered in unison.

Rainbow Dash put the walkie talkie away and started searching in the first of many computer labs in this section. She looked around and tried searching for the pennant, but couldn't find anything. She grunted, leaving the computer lab and moving on to the next one. She searched the second computer lab for a couple minutes before hearing some commotion going on from the hallway. Watching the window on the door, she saw Indigo Zap run past the door along with the other alumni from Crystal Prep towards the library. Rainbow Dash took her walkie talkie back out and alerted the others.

"Guys, Crystal Prep ran past me, towards the library." She stated. "They're gonna find their pennant! We need to hurry and-"

"I found it!" Pinkie Pie screamed.

"Everyone head out!" Applejack called. "We need to beat Crystal Prep out!"

Rainbow Dash watched as Crystal Prep ran back the other way. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw them carrying their pennant. She ran after them and down the set of stairs that was near her. She saw Rarity on the first floor and told her what she just saw.

"They have their pennant!" She shouted.

"Come on!" Rarity called.

The two girls ran down the hallway and towards the main hall. They saw Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all running down the opposite end and smirked. Rainbow Dash knew that this was a victory for them as they joined together in the main hallway and ran for the doors.

As they pushed themselves through, they saw Twilight standing in the middle of the courtyard, waiting for them. She didn't seem too happy, even as she greeted them all.

"Hey, everyone." Twilight said.

"Hey, Twilight," they all replied.

"What's wrong?" Rarity asked.

Twilight looked behind her and over elsewhere. The others followed Twilight's glance and were stunned with what they saw.

It was Crystal Prep's alumni.

"But how?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "I _just_ saw them pass me in the hallway on the second floor!"

"They got here after I did," admitted Twilight, "but I didn't have our pennant."

"It doesn't make any sense," Rainbow Dash continued, "how could they get outside first? What did they do? Jump through one of the windows on the second floor?"

Crystal Prep watched Rainbow Dash complain about how quickly they acted in the round. Truth be told, Crystal Prep knew just exactly where to look, thanks to Rainbow Dash and Canterlot High's walkie talkies. Indigo Zap and Lunar Nights both wore disruptors and microchip transmitters that allowed them to listen in on all of Canterlot High's conversations as they searched for their pennant. Once Rainbow Dash told the others via the walkie talkie that she found Crystal Prep's pennant, the Crystal Prep alumni rushed to the library as quickly as they could. They ran straight to the book that housed the pennant, grabbing it and running out of the library. Rainbow Dash saw most of them pass by, but she failed to notice that Shining Armor stood behind briefly. He ran down the nearest set of stairs behind Rainbow Dash and jumped out of a nearby window on the first floor, running to the center of the courtyard and waiting for the other alumni to show up.

Rainbow Dash was livid, considering her hatred to losing. She approached Crystal Prep - namely Indigo Zap - and stopped in front of her, staring her down. She pointed at her and accused her of cheating, even though she didn't have any kind of substantial information that she could use to back her up.

Indigo Zap laughed. "It seems as if someone is a sore loser."

"Don't call me that!" snapped Rainbow Dash. "You cheated and you know it!"

"How could you be so sure of yourself?" Lunar smirked. "You lost because you're simply too slow."

Rainbow Dash blew a gasket and had to be held back by Applejack. She wanted to show Lunar a thing or two, but Applejack wouldn't allow it.

"Now, now, Dash," Applejack sighed, "it ain't worth it."

" _LET ME AT HIM!_ " Rainbow Dash yelled, thrashing and flailing about.

Pinkie Pie watched onward, then saw a small, but noticeable flashing blue light coming from Indigo Zap's hair. She approached Indigo Zap and tried moving her hair to reveal what it was. Indigo Zap quickly covered herself and the light as she spun and moved away from Pinkie Pie.

"Get away from me, you creep!" Indigo Zap shouted.

Pinkie Pie frowned, then got an idea. She took out her phone and held it near Indigo Zap. She waited for a few moments and then started hearing some noise coming from both her phone and Indigo Zap's ear.

"Interference." Twilight said.

"What are you talking about?" Lunar questioned.

Twilight approached both Pinkie Pie and Indigo Zap and observed as much as she could. She began explaining her accusation.

"There is interference going on here," Twilight stated, "and that only happens when two devices that utilize different unseen signals are close by each other. Pinkie's phone uses cellular service..." She turned to Indigo Zap next before continuing.

"So?"

"So," continued Twilight, "Indigo Zap has something that uses some other signal that is causing the sound and her ear to ache."

She tried moving Indigo Zap's hair to see what was there, but Indigo Zap jolted away, despite having such a pain in her ear. She felt her microchip come loose and was starting to fall from her ear. She tried to catch it as it was falling, but was unable to do so. Instead, she and Twilight watched it fall down and hit the ground. Twilight acted quickly and picked up the microchip.

"Interesting..." Twilight said.

"What's it to you?" Indigo Zap scoffed.

"This is the culprit for our defeat." Twilight concluded.

Principals Celestia and Cinch soon came up to the conjoined group of alumni to declare a winner, but were soon put in their places when Twilight showed them the microchip.

"What's that?" Principal Celestia asked.

"This is a small microchip, Principal Celestia," Twilight explained, "and this is a foreign object that Indigo Zap used during the final round."

"Is that so?" Principal Celestia said, eyeing Principal Cinch.

"It is because of this device that Crystal Prep found their school pennant rapidly and finished the round as quickly as they did." Twilight hypothesized. "They listened in to our conversations and knew just exactly where to go to find their pennant after Rainbow Dash accidentally found it. They let us do their work for them and tried to "scoop up" the victory after we finished our job. As far as how they got outside in a hurry, that is what I'm not too sure of."

"Well then," Principal Cinch scoffed, "if that isn't the most obnoxious remark I've ever heard of. I've heard of being a "sore loser," but this is ridiculous! Crystal Prep is not a school where cheating is accepted!" She knew that Twilight was right, however, and tried to make it seem as if it didn't happen.

"Hmm..." Principal Celestia sighed. "Would everyone please remove all of their belongings from them? We are going to perform a search."

The alumni from both schools took out everything they had, except for Lunar; he didn't remove his microchip or disruptor. Principal Celestia then began walking down the line of students and began performing quick searches on all of them. As she got closer to Lunar, who was next-to-last in line, her phone started to make sounds from interference. Once she got to Lunar, her phone was the loudest it could be and she heard it.

"Is there something that you're hiding?" She asked.

"Not at all." Lunar scoffed.

Principal Celestia did not look amused and took out her phone and positioned it near Lunar. She observed that it made the most sound when it was next to his ear and demanded that he remove whatever it was in his ear.

"A hearing aid?" Lunar lied. "Seriously?"

Twilight defended Principal Celestia. "Hearing aids don't cause cellular interference."

Lunar found his mistake and started worrying. He looked at Principal Cinch and saw that she was slightly shaking her head no, signaling for him to not give in to Principal Celestia's demand. Principal Celestia, on the other hand, was growing rather impatient and requested again that Lunar remove whatever was in his ear. Lunar gulped, then began weighing his options on what he should do at this moment.

Everyone was eagerly awaiting for what Lunar would do. He tried glancing towards Principal Cinch, but his vision to her was cut off by the alumni from Canterlot High and Principal Celestia surrounding him. He grunted, scoffing at the idea that a "hearing aid" could cause cellular disturbance. At last, Principal Celestia lost patience.

"In part of...recent events," Principal Celestia began, "Crystal Prep Academy has been disqualified from the Pennant Hunt round!"

"WHAT!?" Principal Cinch gasped, as did Crystal Prep alumni.

"As a result," continued Principal Celestia, "Canterlot High is victorious in the Pennant Hunt and, with a final score of two-to-one, Canterlot High wins the alumni edition of the Friendship Games!"

The Canterlot students cheered loudly as Canterlot High was declared the winner of the Friendship Games. The alumni also cheered loudly as well and dedicated the victory to Sunset Shimmer. Principal Cinch, on the other hand, was astounded by the move and called Principal Celestia out on it.

"That is incredibly unfair, Principal Celestia," Principal Cinch shouted, "you cannot disqualify my school because of a right to forbid searches!"

"Then you do it then," Principal Celestia replied, "he went to your school, so you try to understand where the cellular disturbance is coming from."

"Lunar Nights!" Principal Cinch called, annoyance sounding in her voice.

Lunar approached Principal Cinch and looked at her. "Yes?"

"Empty your pockets."

Lunar followed orders and emptied out his pockets; everything but his disruptor. He held out his hands and scoffed. "Told you I wasn't hiding anything."

Twilight smirked. "We didn't say you were."

Lunar gulped. "Uhh..."

After a few more moments of silence, Lunar finally came clean and told everyone what happened.

"What was that?" Principal Celestia asked. "I couldn't hear you."

"Indigo Zap was the only one to carry both foreign devices." He lied.

Indigo Zap was livid. "WHAT!? You had a disruptor in your ear!" Indigo Zap slammed her mouth shut after foolishly revealing to everyone what happened; what really happened.

Principal Celestia laughed. "Well, Lunar? Care to show where this disruptor is?"

Lunar grunted, then pulled out the disruptor from his ear. He dropped it to the ground and began walking away. The disruptor falling was symbolism to Crystal Prep falling to Canterlot High. Principal Celestia bent down and picked up the disruptor, then held it to Principal Cinch.

"This is the reason why your school has been disqualified," she told her, "and this is the reason why you lost these games. The use of foreign objects is against the rules in the games and yet you allowed and encouraged your alumni to cheat."

"That is absurd!" Principal Cinch defended, although she knew that Principal Celestia was right.

"Is it now?" Principal Celestia questioned.

Furiously, Principal Cinch began walking away. She called for her alumni to return to the buses and go home. Principal Celestia, on the other hand, called for her alumni and congratulated them all.

"Thank you," she began, "all of you, for everything you've done today. I know this hasn't been the type of games we were hoping for, but one thing is certain about them."

"We finally beat Crystal Prep!" Rainbow Dash cheered.

"We finally beat Crystal Prep." Principal Celestia repeated.

Everyone then engaged in a group hug after that. There one goal had finally been accomplished, even if it were long overdue.

Crystal Prep Academy had finally been defeated. Canterlot High School now had their first win in the games.

"And we'll continue to build on it," Principal Celestia promised, already looking forward to the next Friendship Games.


	8. Harder Times

**Harder Times**

* * *

Life. Are we living it? Or is it living us?

Are there simplistic ways to life? Or do we have to live through all the heartaches?

It seems as if life is nothing but disappointment and depression; constant pain and no gain.

Life has been rough as of late. It's as if I have to go through all the hardships and heartaches at such a young age, for no reason whatsoever. At the age of seventeen, I was diagnosed with Stage Four Hodgkin's Lymphoma, leaving me with a slim chance of life. At age eighteen, I lost my father to cancer – a seven year battle he endured. At age twenty-one, my sister had committed suicide since her boyfriend left her after a five year relationship ended abruptly. When I was twenty-two, I lost my favorite cousin to cancer. Oddly enough, we were both diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the same time, February of 2012, with the same stage, Stage 4. He lost his battle while I continue to struggle with mine.

On my twenty-fourth birthday, my grandmother, aunt, and mother had all died in a car crash caused by a drunk driver, something that should have never happened. Period. When I turned twenty-six, my two remaining close cousins also suffered the same fate as my mother did...

By my twenty-seventh birthday, I was the last of my immediate family from my mother's side. I never knew the members of my father's side of the family so I refrained from engaging any sort of conversation or contact with them. I was all alone – cancer patient, no job, no family...

No life...

Don't get me wrong, I'm open to independence. It's just that...what I'm trying to...

How do I put it?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like being alone, but at the same time, I hate being alone...if that makes any sense...

At this day in age, I'm surprised I haven't gone completely insane or lost my mind or even committed suicide. Don't get me wrong, I have thought about it – suicide, that is – but I can't imagine the afterlife. What's it like? Where do you go? What happens to your dead corpse? Who knows? Is death painful? Or is suffering from a broken bone more painful than death?

In my bedroom, inside a nightstand drawer, there is a handgun – a pistol, if you will. Next to the pistol are two bullets, one for self defense, and one for the end. The pistol used to belong to my father when he was enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He gave it to me, as per his request in his will, and I've kept it in my nightstand drawer, which also used to be his. In case I forgot to mention this, I've lived in this house all my life, watching many events unfold before my very eyes – September 11th, the war in Iraq, Barack Obama becoming the first African American president, witnessing three family members, myself included, get diagnosed with cancer – and they've all taken their toll on me and my life in some sort of way.

I approached the nightstand in my poorly lit room, light only coming in from the full moon that was embracing the land in a dim white light. I opened up the drawer and saw the moonlight reflect off the sleek, chrome pistol. It had been kept very clean, having it's own rag, located right next to the bullets that were in the drawer. I had grabbed the rag, then embraced the rag around the pistol, bringing it closer to me. I admired the sleek design of the pistol, running my fingers over the barrel of the pistol and down the side of it and over the trigger, which I accidentally pulled, but was fine since the pistol was empty of ammunition.

"Oh, how I wish you were still here..." I sadly spoke, referring to my father obviously, the previous owner of this beautiful pistol.

I call her beautiful because she means a lot to me and she meant a lot to my father. I remember when I was younger, probably around sixteen-years-old, I saw a story on the news that both me and my father scoffed at. The topic – ironic enough – was about weaponry and it's effects in public areas.

"'They say that people don't kill people, but that guns kill people.'" My father recited to me.

"Isn't that true though, dad?" I asked. Back when I was sixteen, I never really thought about that statement.

"If that's true, son," my father continued, "then I guess knives stab people and planes crash into buildings. It's always the objects' fault; never the person holding or controlling the object."

My father was a wise man, really making you think with his statements. I remember holding on to those words and putting them in the back of my head, where I wouldn't ever forget them, foolish as it sounds.

I looked down at the sleek beauty, grabbed a bullet, then took the pistol outside where I could get a better look at it under the moonlight. I gazed up at the bright full moon and admired its beauty. The moon was awe inspiring, hypnotic even. The moon is only like this twice a year, on the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, and the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice. Tonight was the winter solstice and, up in the north, it was unseasonably warm. I never minded the warm weather, but it seemed as if this year, mother nature decided to skip the pleasant autumn and go straight from summer to winter. Tonight was an unusual sixty-eight degrees, with little wind movement.

I took in some of the crisp cool air of the night and closed my eyes. I began to think about my dead relatives, how they were doing up in heaven and how the time flew by without them to share a few laughs with along the way. I don't think I mentioned this, but I am an atheist. I choose not to believe in God, but I do choose to believe in heaven and hell, as odd as it sounds. However, that's besides the point.

I began gripping the pistol a bit tighter as tears began falling from the corners of my eyes, down the side of my face and, ultimately, down to the ground. I missed my family very much, there was no doubt about that. I'd kill to see them again, I really would. Looking back up at the sky, I closed my eyes tightly so that the tears could stop escaping and sighed slowly.

"Wait for me, everyone..." I said.

I motioned the arm holding the pistol up to my head, with the barrel of the pistol touching the side of my head. It was cold and unforgiving, almost as if it didn't want me to proceed with what I was about to do. I didn't want to do it, but I also didn't want to live like this anymore. So, with one last, painful sigh, I opened my eyes, looked up at the moon and pulled the trigger. I heard the gunshot and felt the bullet tear through my skull and brain, going in one side and coming out of the other. My vision had become disoriented and time appeared to slow down tremendously. The last thing I remember while on earth was my body collapsing onto the cold, wet ground.

Suicide was the answer, I guess.

I saw my dead corpse collapsed on the ground. My left hand still maintained a grip on the beautiful pistol that was forced to perform a horrific act of vigilance. My right arm was bent in the most unusual of ways, one that appeared as if it would hurt a living person. A lot, might I add.

I don't understand this; why am I still here? What's the purpose of making me stare at my dead body? What's the purpose with me still being here exactly?

I started sobbing over the choice I had just performed, though no tears fell from my eyes. I guess when you die, there is nothing there to create tears anymore. So the best alternative is to sob. I require no air anymore; no breathing, no life, and no death, apparently. In my ghostly state, I had flown over to my dead body and I tried my best to fuse with it once more, though I couldn't perform said action successfully.

My heart sank when the reality of the matter set in that I am now dead.

Suddenly, I was being dragged away by an unknown force into the sky and away from my dead body. I struggled mightily to strive back towards my body, but found myself only being pulled away faster, farther, and higher. As I was pulled behind the clouds, I gave up trying to return to my body and instead, started to admire some beautiful, swirling colors that appeared in front of me, reminding me of a kaleidoscope. The colors were pretty, taking my mind off of my suicide for a brief moment.

This spectacular light show lasted only for a split second, then everything faded to black. I was all alone in this dark universe, scared for my afterlife now. I had no idea what was going on or what to expect.

My mind was once again taken off of my fears as the surrounding area had become brightly colorful. The surrounding area was brightly colored, giving off such a warm, compassionate, and friendly feeling. Nearby were some apple trees and a calm, steadily flowing stream. In the far off distance was a large red barn and in the line of vision, near the horizon line, was a town attached to the side of a steep mountain.

"What is this place?" I quietly asked myself, "It's so colorful and warm!"

I began walking over towards the stream to quench my thirst, which randomly hit me as did these colors, but found myself falling face first into the ground. I looked down at my feet and, instead, saw four emerald colored hooves. I was both stunned and amazed at this one little detailing I spotted. I was stunned because I had hooves now, but I was amazed because emerald green was one of my favorite colors and the fact that I had hooves now.

"What happened?" I muttered, "Where am I?"

I looked around frantically and began to panic. I didn't know where I was, how I got here, or even why I was here. All I knew was that I __was__ here, whether I wanted to be or not.

I stood back up on my four legs now, which seemed really weird, honestly. Walking on four legs was like the equivalent of crawling back in the human world. It wasn't natural, but I guess after a while, one could get used to this style of "walking."

After getting used to my new style of walking, I had begun approaching the red barn I saw from earlier. I figured that I should attempt to make a connection with someone, even if it meant that my life would be put in danger. Let's be honest, when you come from where I'm from, the last thing you'd want to do is make connections with a complete stranger. However, since I was raised in this environment, I could easily defend myself, should the situation get out of hand – err, out of hoof, I mean.

I continued my pursuits towards the barn and found myself quickly approaching it. It seemed as if time moved a lot quicker here in this world than back on earth. I wonder if that will be a good thing or a bad thing. Frankly, I'm wondering if I'm still alive or not.

As I approached the barn further, I noticed that there was a red colored stallion, an orange mare, a yellow filly, and a bright green mare. The bright green mare appeared older than anyone else there, but still appeared to be working just as hard as the other three were. I approached the side of the barn, near the entrance, but did not enter onto the property. I watched as the four of them did their hard farm work. Over time, the little yellow filly noticed me and called out to the orange mare.

"Applejack..." the filly called out, her voice somewhat hinting towards fear.

"What is it, Apple Bloom?" The orange mare, Applejack, called back, turning around to face her, noticing me in the process.

The filly, Apple Bloom, pointed one of her little yellow hooves at me as Applejack started approaching me. Applejack had a bright orange coat with a yellow mane and tail, some very nice green eyes, a brown cowboy hat, and three apples on her flank. I wasn't quite sure of what the three apples symbolized or why only Applejack had it and the red stallion had a green apple, the green mare had a pie, and Apple Bloom didn't have one, but I had to put that aside for now.

"What can I do ya for, partner?" Applejack cheerfully asked me.

Honestly, I was very nervous. Not because I was scared of Applejack, but because I wasn't quite sure of how this situation would handle itself. After some eerie silence, I finally spoke up and answered Applejack, not truthfully, but still answered her.

"Umm...I'm new in town and wanted to know if you could help me find my way around, if that's alright."

"Why, of course it is." smiled Applejack. "Ah'll be more than happy to show ya aroun' town, uhh...Ah di'n't catch yer name before..."

"I'm Robert." I calmly answer back before Applejack started showing me around town.

"Ah'll be back later, y'all!" Applejack called to the other three creatures before walking alongside me.

There were some awkward moments in my life, but none of them could come close to how awkward I felt at this very moment. I mean, I'm not the best when it comes to socializing, and when I'm with a girl – a girl of any kind, let me say – let's just say that I'm not myself, no extensions. Finally, I decided to speak up and break the deafening silence.

"Do you mind if I ask who those other three umm...creatures were?" I oddly asked.

"The big red fella is my older brother, Big Macintosh." Applejack answered. "The older green mare is Granny Smith and the lil yella filly is my sister, Apple Bloom."

"Oh..." I replied, not knowing what I should say, "and what's with the three apples on your back end?"

"That's my cutie mark," responded Applejack, "symbolizin' that my destiny is to help out on the farm."

"Do you mind me asking, why is yours different from the other three?"

"A cutie mark __is__ different for everypony." exclaimed Applejack.

I peered my head towards my back end, noticing that my "cutie mark" was an electric guitar on fire. I had stopped moving and began admiring it.

"Lemme ask you this, Rob," Applejack started after she noticed I had stopped moving, "do y'all play an instrument?"

"Yeah," I rapidly answered, causing Applejack to chuckle a bit, "I played an electric guitar back home,"

"An 'electric' guitar?" questioned Applejack.

"Yeah," I replied, "it's the equivalent of a regular guitar, but it provides more of a definite sound and requires an amp to hear said sound."

"An amp?"

"Yeah," I continued, "it's like a really, really big speaker."

"How long have y'all been playin' this electric guitar?" Applejack curiously asked.

"About nine or ten years now." I answered.

"Nine or ten years?" Applejack repeated. "Hope y'all are okay with me askin', but how old are ya?"

"I don't mind at all," I replied, "and I'm twenty-seven, how about you?"

"Twenty-seven?" Applejack repeated, showing signs of shock in her voice.

"Yeah," I replied.

I began thinking, maybe I should come clean and tell Applejack the truth about myself. Then again, how would she react if I told her I come from a place where there were two-legged creatures whom had hands? Would I look like a complete idiot? Or would she honestly understand me? I decided ultimately to come clean about my past.

"Listen, Applejack," I slowly started, "I have to come clean about something..."

"About what, partner?" she asked me.

"I'm actually not from this world." I meekly responded.

"Whaddya mean?"

"Well," I began explaining, hoping I could find the correct words to explain it, "I'm from a planet called Earth and was originally a human – a two-legged creature with hands instead of these hooves. I...woke up here after being killed back home and don't really have any other memory as to how I got here or even why I'm here."

I went on to explain things a little bit further to Applejack, hoping that she would understand, though a large part of me knew that trying to understand this was almost the same as going mentally insane.

"Wait a minute, lemme get this straight."

"Shoot, Applejack."

Applejack and I both stopped walking down the path we were on as she began to reiterate everything I had just told her.

"So, y'all are from another world and ya came here after you did WHAT?"

"I came here after I was killed back home." I answered falsely. Let's be honest, it was kind of true, though I killed myself, as you know. How would Applejack respond if I told her I committed suicide? Would she think I was insane or mentally troubled? Or even a mentally incapacitated freak?

"Is that so..." responded Applejack.

I had nodded very, very slowly, almost forcing myself to nod – just a bit. It's like an entire thinking process went through my head while I nodded. First off, I thought that if I had nodded quickly, Applejack would assume something wasn't quite right, but if I had nodded slowly, maybe Applejack would show signs of compassion and understanding towards my...condition, I guess would be the word to use here.

Turns out that she did understand my situation, as strange as that sounds. She wrapped her hoof around my neck – my emerald green neck – while starting to hug me.

"It must've been just awful to go through what you just gone through, partner." Applejack quietly muttered.

 _ _You have no idea, Applejack...__ I thought to myself.

"How could you be so calm right now?" Applejack questioned.

I had a hard time answering that. I was calm, just on the outside, but on the inside, that was an entirely different story. Inside, I was trembling with the biggest of fears, mainly why I was here, but also how I present myself towards others and how I go about adjusting to my new life.

"I'm not, Applejack," I quietly responded, "I mean, I am on the outside, but on the inside, I'm just trembling with fear; fears that I just can't seem to explain."

"Ah thought so..." Applejack finished, pulling herself back from me.

I gave off a false smile, one that you couldn't tell unless you really knew me. Applejack seemed to buy it, though, as we continued trotting down the dirt path towards the nearest town – Ponyville, to be exact. I believe Applejack said she was taking me to go meet her friends – Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, I believe she told me.

Memorization wasn't hard. In fact, it was fairly easy for me. Memorizing multiple names at one time was a challenge though. Frankly, I sort of forgot the names of the three creatures from before – though I never brought that up with Applejack.

Something about walking, trotting, whatever it is, down this dirt path seemed familiar, like I've seen this somewhere before. Perhaps my younger sister knew something about this.

Oh, that reminds me. I completely forgot to tell you about my younger sister. Her name was Ariana and she was the sweetest little girl you could imagine. As my parents told my older sister and myself, Ariana was just simply perfect for someone of her age. Unfortunately, after both of our parents died, I went into a deep state of depression and Ariana did as well. Since I was unfit to care for her, I sent her to go live with my uncle from my father's side of the family. It was a tough decision to do, but it was for the better that she lived with him since he could care for her.

Anyway, Ariana used to love watching this show called My Little Pony and she always wanted me to watch it with her, telling me that it's what friends would do. Not wanting to object to the idea coming from a sweet and innocent seven-year-old girl, I agreed as we both sat on the couch and watched the three episodes that came on each and every day, together.

I remember how colorful it was; how friendly the characters were; how compassionate they were towards one another. I remember how each character got along – the majority of the time, that is – and how they always helped each other out, even if the situation was completely insane (i.e. Pinkie Pie).

Anyway, with Applejack and myself trotting down the path together, this path started becoming clearer and clearer to me. I finally figured out where I was (which took a long time, honestly), though I couldn't exactly figure out how I came here.

I was in the world of My Little Pony. What was it called...I honestly should know this. I know Ariana would know where I was. It wasn't Ponyville, that was the name of the main town in the world. I think it started with an E, but I can't quite place the name right now...

This is going to drive me insane, not knowing what the name of the world I am in is called...

Applejack was talking to me the entire time, but I had tuned out all noise from the outside world. Tuning back in, I managed to pick up where Applejack was in the conversation. Sort of.

"...newest princess Equestria has to offer." finished Applejack.

That's it! It was Equestria! That's the name of the world I woke up in. As for the last thing Applejack said, I believe she was referring to Twilight Sparkle. I don't remember much, but I know for a fact that Twilight Sparkle was Ariana's favorite pony and she was super thrilled about when she became, what they called, an alicorn and a pony princess. As for myself, my two favorite ponies (they tied for best pony for me) were Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy was my favorite just because she was kind and shy, just like me and Rainbow Dash was also my favorite because of her athleticism and agility, just like me, though I'm sure she was probably faster than I was.

"So what's life like where you come from?" Applejack curiously asked.

"Where I come from," I quietly started, "we aren't shaped like this; ponies don't exist in my world. We work day and night, which isn't controlled like the sun and moon here are, to make a living. Speaking of the sun and moon, my home planet orbits the sun while the moon orbits my planet. I understand here that your princesses – Luna and Celestia, I believe there names are – use their magic to raise and lower both the sun and moon each and every day. Where I come from, we walk on two legs and pick things up with our hands, or your front hooves in this case now. We humans, as we're called, aren't as closely connected and friendly towards certain other humans as your kind is with each other. We are actually torn between each other, with severe quarrels called wars occurring between each other when things get too severe to handle with words."

"That sounds jus' terrible, Rob," Applejack offered.

"Not all the time," I replied, "but my life seemed to be just that..."

"Do y'all wish to go back home?"

"Honestly," I said, stopping to think about it for a quick second, "no. I want to stay here."

"Why?" questioned Applejack.

"I feel like I'd be more happier here than I would have been back home." I meekly replied.

"Well, if y'all are happy," Applejack said, wrapping a hoof around my neck once more, "then Ah'm happy, too!"

I smiled back, truthfully this time, as we continued down the path towards the little town known as Ponyville. The journey was quiet for the most part, I guess because Applejack wanted to appreciate my feelings and give them the privacy they deserved. The path started taking a bend, so we followed it, still approaching the little town of Ponyville. There was a gentle breeze that flew past and went through my hair, making me feel a little bit better. It offered a calm serenity and allowed me to stop thinking about many things and also allowed me to start focusing on what was going to come ahead in time. Shortly thereafter, I saw a large village in the distance that was quickly approaching. There were large houses and buildings all around and they had really grabbed my attention.

"Here we are, Rob," Applejack cheerfully said, "Ponyville!"

My eyes grew wide and twinkled, kind of like how a Japanese anime character does that quivering, watery eye thing sometimes. Ponyville was so colorful; so alive. The atmosphere felt different from just watching it through a television screen. Being here felt comfortable, but at the same time, it feels like something that is on a completely different level compared to being just comfortable.

"It's so nice..." I said after a while.

I looked around from building to building, noticing that they were all built almost identical to each other, with the exception of a few buildings and with the major exception being Twilight Sparkle's oak tree home – the Golden Oaks Library, I think it's called.

Applejack and I proceeded over towards Twilight's home first. It was surprisingly a very quick walk from the edge of town to Twilight's home. Then again, full-length distances were never shown in the show. Two things either happened during the show: either the traveling character was cut away from, cutting straight to the pony whom would be visited or the show would only show half of the journey (I assume half, but you could never be too sure of that). Getting the feeling and opportunity to actually travel the entire distance was pretty exciting, honestly.

Up ahead in the distance was Twilight's home. Upon reaching the front door, Applejack gently knocked her hoof on it before shunting backwards next to me.

"Y'all are gonna love Twilight, Rob," Applejack said to me, "she's smart and a great friend, much like yourself."

I smiled at the compliment Applejack just gave me as the door began opening up. Instead of the princess, however, before us stood a tiny purple-and-green dragon. I remembered seeing one in the show, but couldn't place my hand – err, hoof – on who this was. The tiny dragon gazed up at both Applejack and myself, only greeting Applejack. I guess since he didn't recognize me, he wouldn't engage in conversation with me, but that's just my philosophy.

"Hi there, Applejack!" The dragon spoke cheerfully. He glanced over towards me. "Who's your friend here?"

"Howdy, Spike," Applejack replied, "this here is Rob. He's brand new to these parts and Ah was jus' showin' him aroun' town. Is Twilight home?"

"Sure," replied the tiny dragon, Spike, "lemme just go get her."

With that said, Spike left to go find Twilight Sparkle, whom was located somewhere inside this...umm...house? Would she call it a house or a tree? I know Rainbow Dash referred to this as a tree, but I couldn't remember if Twilight or anybody...excuse me, anypony, else referred to this as a tree.

Anyway, Applejack stepped into the tree, myself closely following behind her. Inside Twilight's home, I managed to gaze around and see so many books on the shelves. Then again, this _was_ a library after all. I began skimming through the books, locating one that really caught my attention. This book was entitled "The History of Equestria: Everything You Need To Know About Equestria." I was just about to take it off the shelf and open it up, when I heard some...hoof-steps? Would that be correct terminology here?

Either way, I turned my head around and saw Princess Twilight Sparkle coming down the stairs, being closely followed by Spike. I came up beside Applejack as Twilight met us in the center of the bright, circular room. Twilight looked just as good as she did during her coronation (not to sound creepy). I could see that she was wearing her crown, which probably meant that she no longer was self-conscious about it. As for her new wings, I couldn't tell if she felt comfortable with them.

"Hello, Applejack," Twilight softly said. Like Spike, she then glanced over towards me. "Who is this?"

"This here is Robert, Twilight," Applejack reiterated, "he's new to Ponyville and Ah was jus' showin' him aroun'."

Twilight studied my every detail, something I probably should have done the second I got here. In short, she could tell more about me than maybe even I could in a few more seconds. The biggest thing that clouded my mind was that I did not know what species I was, Earth pony, Pegasus, or unicorn. I concluded that I could not be a Pegasus since I felt no wings attached to either side of me, so that ruled that out. The only thing I didn't know was if I was an "Earthy," as some people call Earth ponies, or a unicorn.

After a while of studying, Twilight looked me in the eye and began smiling at me.

"You have very beautiful eyes, Robert," Twilight complimented, "they look almost like emeralds."

That cleared my answer as to what my eye color was, though to be honest, that wasn't on my mind at all. Still, I didn't want to be rude, so I thanked Twilight for the very meaningful compliment, which was something I rarely ever received when I was living back home.

"Such lovely manners, too," continued Twilight, glancing over towards Applejack, "Rarity is sure going to love him, wouldn't you say?"

"He's humble and modest, Twilight," Applejack replied.

I began blushing. I had never received such compliments back home, so these actually meant a lot to me, even if they were just simplistic compliments.

" _ _And__ he's a unicorn!" Twilight exclaimed further, answering one of my main questions as to who I was.

"Yeah, about that," I softly spoke.

"You sound like how Fluttershy would speak." Twilight cut in. "Are you a shy pony?"

"Just a little bit," I answered back, having a little more confidence showing in the sound of my voice.

"It's alright," Twilight continued, "you'll open up like she did over time, I'm sure of it."

"Twilight knows pretty much everythin' there is to know, Rob," Applejack chimed in, "so Ah'm sure she's right."

"I'm sure, as well," I said, "might I ask you a quick question, Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

"But, of course," answered Twilight, "and please, do call me Twilight. I'm not entirely comfortable being called __Princess__ Twilight Sparkle just yet."

"If you insist," I replied.

"Thank you," thanked Twilight, "now, what was it you wanted to ask?"

"As you can quite very well notice, I am indeed a unicorn, much like yourself...I mean, like you were. However, I seem to be having trouble with...this sounds silly..."

"It doesn't sound silly at all, Robert," Twilight insisted, "were you just about to ask me if I may help you out with your magic?"

I gulped for a quick second, fortunately short enough so that nopony else noticed, "Yes, I was. However, the preceding story I would have told you in detail is not true."

"What do you mean?" asked a curious Twilight.

I began to let out a long, unsatisfied sigh, unsure if what I was about to reiterate (again) would make any sense to Twilight. I'm quite surprised that Applejack understood me fully, though I still don't know why she understood. Looking over towards Applejack, I slowly closed my eyes and began telling my entire story once more.

"Twilight," I started, "can you promise me that you won't freak out with what I'm about to say?"

"Of course," Twilight replied without any sort of hesitation, "but why do you ask?"

I sighed once more, just not as long and as hard as the previous sigh.

"Because what I'm about to tell you is going to sound completely and utterly insane."

"...and that's pretty much all there is I need to tell you."

Twilight Sparkle was astounded by the unusual (and kinda creepy) story I just finished. I made it a mission not to leave out any details of it and I believe that it came out nicely - for the most part, that is. I did leave out the word suicide and substituted it for killed in my story, but I did that to Applejack as well, so it was all in good timing...or wording...or whatever.

Anyway, I left Twilight in amazement. How could I tell? Her jaw was dropped fully and was hanging on to every single detail. I glanced over towards Applejack, whom appeared as if she would burst out laughing at any second.

"Y'all should look at the look on yer face, Twilight," Applejack spoke through her amusing giggling.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I paid my attention from the story I just spoke to Twilight's befuddled look. It wasn't nice, but I couldn't help it. Fighting back the chuckles, I managed to get something out.

"Speechless, are we Twilight?" I asked.

Twilight shook her head rigorously, snapping her out of any trance she may have previously been in (hopefully it wasn't from the evil enchantress who does evil dances). Finally, she had begun answering my question.

"That's sure quite a story, Robert," she slowly started, "I'm sure Princess Celestia will enjoy hearing about it. You know, if you want to share it with her that is."

"You can share it with whoever you want, Twilight," I replied, "it doesn't bother me at all."

"I'll start preparing a letter immediately," the little dragon, Spike, chimed.

"And make sure you capture every detail within that letter, Spike," Twilight continued.

With that said, Spike traveled upstairs and got a jump start on the letter to Princess Celestia. Suddenly, there came a knock on the door. Twilight calmly and collectively opened up the door to reveal three other ponies, an Earth pony and two Pegasus ponies. I immediately recognized them all, especially the Pegasus ponies. My eyes grew wide (again) as they entered the room.

"Hey, Twilight!" The three of them said in unison.

"Hi, girls," replied Twilight, "how are you three doing today?"

"Umm...I'm fine..." A palely colored yellow Pegasus pony softly spoke.

My ears twitched up upon hearing this pony's voice. It was the sweet, elegant voice of one of my favorite ponies - Fluttershy!

Looking over towards the other two ponies that came inside, I noticed that the cutie mark on one of them - the Pegasus, to be more specific - was a rainbow colored bolt. I knew that only one Pegasus had a cutie mark such as that, and that was Rainbow Dash!

"How about you, Rainbow?" Twilight asked the Pegasus.

"I'm feeling totally awesome today!" replied Rainbow Dash.

Honestly, I don't know how many bronies would pay to be in this situation I was in right now, you know, with the exception of the hardships and tough choices I had to make in order to get here, but you know...it is what it is.

What it is...

Looking over towards the final pony, a pink Earth pony, I immediately noticed a hyper active motive coming from her. Nobody needed to explain to me who this was. Anyone could clearly see and identify who this pony was, who was currently bouncing up and down in place from sheer excitement.

"How about you, Pinkie Pie?" Twilight chuckled, watching the party pony bounce in place.

"Super duper fun, Twilight!" Replied the pink pony.

I couldn't help but utter more chuckles, dragging the attention away from Twilight and attracting it to me, something I wasn't comfortable with, honestly.

"Who's that?" I heard Pinkie Pie ask.

I opened my eyes and found that Pinkie's face was right up against mine. Pinkie's entire head filled my line of vision and, honestly, that can be a bit too much pink for me to handle at this close range.

"Hi!" Pinkie shouted. "What's your name?"

I gulped for a second. I mean, Pinkie was just being Pinkie but this was something I was NOT used to, even if I knew the motives of this fun-tastic Earth pony.

Looking into her blue eyes was somewhat hypnotic - soothing even. However, after a while, I began to explain myself to the three new ponies who had just stepped foot - I mean hoof - into Twilight's home.

"My name is Robert," I started before awkwardly stopping.

Applejack noticed the awkward silence I was offering and decided to help out with the explanations.

"Ya see," she started, "Rob here isn't from here,"

"Right," chimed Twilight, "Robert is originally a hum man. Am I saying that right, Robert?"

"Close, Twilight," I called over, "it's pronounced hugh-men, spelt h-u-m-a-n."

"Right," continued Twilight, "anyway, he came to our world after a tragic event occurred in his world."

Rainbow Dash glared at me, sort of giving me a cold, hard stare. Fluttershy was doing the same, but not as intensely as Rainbow Dash was. Eventually, Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"Tragic event, huh?" She questioned, "like what?"

"I was killed in my world and came here." I boldly replied. I probably should've added a bit of emotion to that response but, once again, it is what it is.

Rainbow Dash stared bluntly at me, jaw dropped from my choice of words. Fluttershy, on the other hand, had her front hooves held up against her mouth and her eyes were wide from shock.

Some tense silence slowly passed by before Twilight picked up the conversation and introductions once more.

"Anyway," started Twilight, "Robert here is new to our world and seems to be enjoying it fully, isn't that right, Robert?"

I smiled while giving my feedback on my time here in Equestria, more specifically, Ponyville.

"I love being here," I answered with a large smile, "it's so much better than back home and plus, I have a feeling ill be a lot happier here than I ever was back home!"

"Well," Rainbow Dash started after a while more had passed, "any friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine!"

With that said, Rainbow Dash hovered closer to the ground and held out her hoof, signaling for a hoof-bump, which I gladly took part in. Bumping her hoof, I smiled and thanked Rainbow Dash for the compliment and compassion. Fluttershy was still being shy, which didn't bother me all that much since it took some time for her and Twilight to become friends when they first met. Pinkie Pie immediately tugged at my neck and wrapped both her hooves around me for a large, somewhat suffocating, yet calm hug.

Trust me when I say this: I can definitely get used to living here!

"We're sooo happy you are here," Pinkie Pie smiled, "especially since Nightmare Night is just around the corner!"

The pink pony, Pinkie Pie, was bouncing up and down in place from sheer excitement about this "Nightmare Night" fiasco. Unaware of what it was, I tilted my head and gave out a confused grunt.

"What's "Nightmare Night?"" I asked, motioning my hooves as I said the name.

"Seriously?" Asked Pinkie Pie. "You don't know what Nightmare Night is?"

I shook my head no.

"Now, now, Pinkie," Twilight started, "he is from another world. Perhaps on his world there is no such thing."

Pinkie Pie looked down in disappointment, completely forgetting that I was not of this world and did not know the ways of Equestria, at least, not all of them. Twilight smiled at Pinkie Pie, forgiving her of her actions, as did I.

"Nightmare Night happens once every year, Robert," Twilight started.

"It's the perfect time of the year to play pranks on everypony!" added Rainbow Dash.

Twilight shot a mean look at Rainbow Dash, knowing quite well that that wasn't the true reason to celebrate Nightmare Night.

"Actually," Twilight hissed, "Nightmare Night is a night where young fillies and colts go-"

"And me!" Pinkie Pie quickly added, cutting Twilight off.

"And...Pinkie," Twilight paused, "but they go out and collect candy for Nightmare Moon, offering it as a means of peace so that Equestria will be safe for another year from the wrath of Nightmare Moon."

That sounded oddly familiar the more I thought about it. Nightmare Night, Nightmare Moon? Those definitely sounded familiar, like I've heard them before. I know I've heard Nightmare Moon before but Nightmare Night is a bit hazy in my memory, to be honest.

"You said children go around and collect candy?" I asked after a thinking for a while.

"That's right," Twilight answered.

"And the children take the candy they've collected and offer it up to a statue of Nightmare Moon in the Everfree Forest as a sign of peace," I continued, "right?"

"Right."

"That sounds like a holiday we celebrate back home called Halloween." I replied.

"Hal-O-Een?" The group of six ponies simultaneously asked.

"Halloween," I started, "is a holiday celebrated on the last day of October where little children dress up in costumes and go around collecting candy."

"And do they offer the candy they've collected to somepony?" Fluttershy quietly asked.

"No," I answered, "they keep whatever they collect for themselves or to share with someone else."

"Sounds..." paused Rainbow Dash.

"...peculiar." finished Twilight.

"How so?" I asked, a hint of curiosity showing in the sound of my voice.

"Well," started Twilight, "doesn't it sound a bit weird that nopony makes any kind of offering?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, not sure of what exactly Twilight was getting at.

"Well," continued Twilight, "if nopony makes an offering, doesn't anything happen?"

"What are you all talking about ladies?" a new voice asked, belonging to a pony that was currently climbing down the stairs. The new pony – a white colored unicorn with a royal purple mane color – noticed me and smiled. "...and gentleman."

"Our friend Robert has never heard of Nightmare Night, Rarity," Twilight explained, going back to the previous conversation, "so, nothing happens if you don't make any offering, Robert?"

I had to sit there and actually think about that logic. I mean, if they don't offer up candy to Nightmare Moon, she will come back and "gobble up" the children. However, if they offer up their candy, Equestria will be safe for another year, at least according to Zecora. However, since we didn't offer candy to anyone (but trick-or-treaters, obviously), nothing bad ever happened that I can recall.

After some extensive thinking, I finally shook my head and answered, "Not that I can think of...no."

The other six sat back and glanced between each other. Twilight "shrugged" her front hooves and let that comment slide - for now, at least.

"Anyway," started Rarity after some tense silence filled the room, "I always look fabulous in my costume on Nightmare Night."

"I look awesome!" Rainbow Dash chimed.

"I look silly!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"I look magical." Twilight added.

"I don't do Nightmare Night..." said a very quiet Fluttershy.

That last comment stuck to me like a bug to a spider web would. I asked Fluttershy why she wouldn't partake in Nightmare Night.

"Visitors aren't welcome on Nightmare Night!" shrieked Fluttershy.

"But...why?" I repeated.

Fluttershy gave me a cold stare and I immediately dropped the subject. Instead, Twilight asked me how I look on Nightmare Night, though I knew that she meant Halloween.

"Personally, I haven't taken part in Halloween for a while." I admitted. "Although, the last year I did something, I dressed up as a bloodthirsty zombie."

"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash screamed.

I smiled a bit to know that one of my favorite ponies accepted and liked what I did last on Halloween.

"So, what are you going to do this year?" Pinkie Pie asked, signs of curiosity showing in her voice.

"I'm going to dress up as one of my idols back home." I replied.

"Oh?" Rarity questioned. "And who might that be?"

I smiled and looked up into the sky - or in this case, the ceiling. Glancing back down at the six ponies, I told them who exactly I was talking about.

"Slash."

"Slash?" The six simultaneously said.

"Yup," I replied, "Slash."

"Who is that?" Twilight questioned.

"Back home, Slash was a skilled guitarist who played in a rock band called Guns N' Roses. Growing up, he was the real reason I taught myself how to play guitar." I paused for a quick second before picking up again. "I've always wanted to dress up like him and be just like him."

"So what's stopping you, darling?" asked Rarity.

"He has like this really curly black hair that this emerald green name can't touch," I answered, "plus he also has a top hat that's almost impossible to find."

"Perhaps I could be of assistance, Robert," offered Rarity.

"You'd do that for me, Miss Rarity?" an astonished self just asked. "Some...pony you just met?"

"But, of course, Robert," answered Rarity, "after all, that's what friends do for each other."

I felt touched by those words. I had been here for not even a day, and these six ponies consider myself to be one of their friends.

That suicide was possibly the best decision I've ever made.

* * *

I smiled with delight as Rarity used her magic to construct a top hat that looked somewhat like Slash's top hat. I mean, I had to provide approximate dimensions of the hat, which weren't the best since I never actually seen the hat in person, just over television waves or on the internet (once we got it, that is).

"And...qu'elle est terminé." Rarity complied while putting the top hat on top of my head.

"What?" I asked, unknown of what she had said.

Rarity giggled as I asked that. I looked back and tilted my head ever so slightly, showing even more signs of confusion.

"It means, 'It is finished,' darling," she told me.

I blushed a bit, a little embarrassed that I failed to put two and two together and come to a conclusion of what it meant. I rubbed the back of my neck with my (very flexible) front left hoof and proceeded to ask what language that was.

"It is French, Robert," Rarity answered in her high-classed English voice.

I, honestly, was amazed that Rarity knew French so...so...I don't know, but she knew it and she knew it well.

"That's amazing, Miss Rarity," I complimented.

"Such good manners, Robert," responded Rarity, "thank you very much."

"You're quite welcome," I replied. "Are there any other languages you're familiar with?"

"Just English and French, Robert," Rarity answered, using her magic to remove the top hat and place a wig atop my head, "how about you?"

"I know English, my dominant language, a little bit of Spanish, French, and Japanese," I responded.

"Such a wide range of languages," a pleased and impressed Rarity stated, using her magic to exchange one wig with another, "might I receive a demonstration of ces langues, s'il vous plaît [these languages, please]?"

I smiled, turning my head towards Rarity so that I may "provide a demonstration," if you will.

"Je ne sais pas, mademoiselle [I do not know, miss]." I chuckled, speaking in French.

"Oh," Rarity gasped, "please, continue."

"¿Estás seguro de que usted puede entender lo que estoy diciendo [Are you sure you can understand what I'm saying]?" I asked in Spanish.

"Perhaps I may," Rarity replied, although the look on her face told me that she had no idea what I just said.

"あなたの日が起こっているか、希少ミス (Anata no hi ga okotte iru ka, kishō misu)?" I asked in Japanese.

"What does that mean?" the curious, high-society unicorn asked.

I chuckled, answering the question that was asked upon me. "It means, 'How is your day going, Miss Rarity?'"

"Simply fabulous, darling," Rarity answered, referring to both my question and the wig that she placed atop my head. "There, perfect."

"Complete?" I asked, revealing hints of curiosity in my voice.

"Fini [finished]." Rarity said.

Using her magic, she dragged a mirror in front of me and I gazed upon the completed outfit I was to wear on Nightmare Night. I was awe struck at the complexity and the detailing of both the custom-made top hat and the wig, both of which appeared to match the way Slash had his top hat and hair almost perfectly. Now that I looked like Slash, all I needed was Les Gibson guitar, the main guitar he used when he played live.

"How do you like it?" Rarity asked me.

"I love it, Miss Rarity," I answered back, offering her a content and satisfied smile.

Rarity then clapped her front hooves together as she started helping me off the pedestal I was standing on. She took off the wig and the top hat using her magic and set them aside for me.

"Come now," she started, "let us visit Twilight once more. If I recall, she did say that she would help you out with magic, seeing how you're a unicorn now with no ability to use the magic."

"Thank you, Miss Rarity," I replied.

"You may address me simply as Rarity, darling," she offered.

"Thank you, Rarity," I answered as we left the Carousel Boutique.

Walking off of the property and turning left down the dirt road, I proceeded to ask Rarity what magic means to a unicorn.

"Well, darling," Rarity started, "a unicorn with class has the most beautiful magic. A unicorn must never use their magic for horrid purposes. A unicorn must be stylish, classy, take __pride__ in their magic. A unicorn must embrace their magic – true magic that they are born with."

"So magic and unicorns go hand in hand, right?" I asked.

"'Hand in hand?'"

"It's an expression back home," I replied, "It means that they go together, correct?"

"Absolutely, Robert," answered Rarity.

I smiled at Rarity, then turned my head back forward and glanced at Twilight's oak tree home, which was conveniently close to the Carousel Boutique, though the distance was never shown on the show. We approached the front door and Rarity knocked ever so elegantly on it. A few seconds later, Twilight opened up the door and escorted us both inside her home.

Inside, Twilight was alone, with Spike tending to his cleaning in the upstairs room. Twilight guided us to the center of the large, circular, wooden room and then turned back around to face both Rarity and myself. Rarity left my side and stood next to Twilight, also facing me in the process.

"Are you ready to learn the ways of magic, Robert?" Twilight asked me, Rarity smiling at me in the process.

Looking up at my horn, I nodded my head and confidently spoke, "Yes, I am, Twilight."

Rarity glanced over towards Twilight, whom did the same, then back at me. An elegant magenta aura then covered Twilight's horn while a modest blue aura covered Rarity's horn.

"Welcome to your life, Robert," Twilight spoke to me as a beam of magic shot out from both her horn and Rarity's horn and wrapped around me.

"Seek inside yourself for the magic within you and drag that out, Robert," Twilight told me.

I closed my eyes and tried very, very hard to access the magic within my body. Drops of sweat began falling from the sides of my face as I was trying very hard to feel the magic embrace my horn, but had no luck in doing so. As I began to stop trying, I felt the magic from within myself embrace my entire body and navigate its way to my horn. I had accessed my magic and successfully navigated it to my horn.

"What a magnificent emerald aura, Robert," Rarity admired.

I smiled as I glanced up at my horn and saw the bottom portion of the emerald aura embrace my horn. I was simply excited beyond words as I began to access my magic.

"Now you are a true unicorn, Robert," Twilight told me, "now let's work on controlling your magic and performing basic magic spells."

I grew curious. "Basic magic spells such as...?"

Twilight smiled, levitating a book in front of me. "Levitation." She placed the book down and teleported to the other side of the room, then back to her original spot. "Teleportation." She then lit up her horn in front of me. "And light spells. These are a few basic spells that are pretty easy to learn. Once you master them, we'll try some other spells. Are you ready to learn the magnificent ways of magic, Robert?"

"I am, Twilight." I smiled in response.

"Then let us begin, shall we." Twilight replied.

With that said, Twilight and Rarity had begun the lessons so that I could strengthen my newfound magical abilities.

"Well I'll be, darling, you are sure a fast learner."

"I was the best in my class back home, much like how Twilight is to Princess Celestia, pupil wise, I mean," I replied.

Twilight blushed, "You're too kind, Robert,"

"No, you are," I said, "both of you. You two are going out of your ways to help me with my magic - some...pony you just met!"

"Here," began Twilight, "it's what friends do for each other."

"That's right, darling," chimed Rarity, "and a friend in need is a friend indeed."

I smiled largely, grateful that I had become great friends with two very friendly (and pretty) ponies, more specifically, a high-society unicorn, and a royal alicorn.

"Now, let's put your magic to the test," Twilight challenged.

I gulped. If Twilight meant what I think she meant, then...well let's just say my emerald color would be stained with bruises and with red blood stains. I know Twilight wasn't a violent pony, but her magic was ferocious - one you did not want to go up against in a duel or battle. That was a fact. After witnessing her last battle with Tirek, Twilight made it known indirectly that if you go on her bad side, you will regret being on her bad side and, hopefully, her magic wouldn't kill you. My knees grew weaker as I looked into Twilight's eyes.

"Do you mean, a magic duel?" I feebly asked.

Twilight chuckled, stepping next to me and putting her hoof on my shoulder (odd right? Four legs but still have shoulders...well, it's odd to me, at least).

"Yes, Robert," she assured me, "a magic duel,"

"A-against you?" I stuttered.

"Nope." Twilight laughed.

I sighed slightly in relief, but then wondered who I would go against. "Then who?"

Suddenly, a new alicorn came down from the upstairs bedroom. My eyes went straight to this alicorn as they made their way down and positioned himself against Twilight, wrapping a wing around her body.

"Against me, buddy." He told me.

"Robert," Twilight smiled, "meet Prince Lunar. He is my coltfriend and shares the jobs of the night with Princess Luna. He will be your opponent in the magic duel."

I stood silent and stared into this Lunar's eyes, growing more fearful with every passing second. I glanced over at Twilight and noticed an unusually large grin on her face. I gazed over at Rarity and noticed she had her hoof covering up her mouth, giggling in the process then I looked back at Lunar and noticed he was grinning as well. Looking back at Twilight (who was slightly shorter than I was), I noticed that she had begun to burst out laughing. I was ultimately left dazed and confused.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Darling," started Rarity, "did you really believe that you would duel Lunar magically?"

I honestly nodded very, very slowly.

"No offense to you, Robert," Twilight started, "but in case you don't know, Lunar is a skilled alicorn in the field of magic, so a duel with you would have gone very quickly."

"No need to brag about it, Princess Twilight," I teased, knowing quite well that she hated being called that.

Twilight shot a mean look at me as I cleverly smiled back at her.

"Is there a problem, Twilight?" I playfully asked.

Twilight looked down at my front left hoof and hit it with her right front hoof, something that didn't bother me at all. It was all for fun and games after all.

"Anyway," Twilight started, "it's getting a tad late. I think I'm gonna call it a night."

"Aww," Lunar smirked, "somepony is tired."

Twilight nodded, pushing herself closer into Lunar's wing. Rarity took the hint and looked towards the door.

"Indeed, it is getting a tad dark outside," responded Rarity, "I wish to you a good slumber for tonight, Twilight. You too, Lunar."

"Goodnight, _ _Princess__ _."_ I playfully teased while following Rarity out the doorway.

She gave me a stare that looked like a playful cold eye, if that makes any sense, before I used my newly developed magic to shut the door behind us.

Yawning, I turned my attention back towards Rarity, who's long, elegant mane was sparkling in the midst of the night.

"Where will you stay, darling?" She asked me ever so quietly.

"Je ne sais pais, Rarity," I replied.

"Hmm...perhaps you could stay with me until you find yourself a quality home here in Ponyville," offered Rarity, "how does that sound?"

"That sounds spectacular, Rarity," I replied, "thank you for your kind hospitality."

"You're very welcome, Robert," Rarity cheerfully spoke.

For the remainder of the journey back to the Carousel Boutique, both Rarity and myself remained silent. Once we got "home," Rarity opened up the door with her magic and turned on the lights. Soon after, she had showed me to the room I'd be staying in and helped me make the bed.

After getting in my bed for the night, I used my magic to drag up the sheets as Rarity started for the door.

"If there is anything you need," she said before closing the door, "just please let me know."

"Thank you, again, for your hospitality, Rarity," I spoke as the door shut.

"It's the least I could do," Rarity responded before the door fully shut.

That night seemed to be a busy one up in my mind. After the door had shut, my imagination started running wild and was taking over reality in my line of vision. I had fallen asleep quite briefly this time around, which was a wonder since it always took me a while to fall asleep back home, though when I was asleep, I _was_ asleep.

 _ _Take me away,__ I thought, __to my serenity.__

* * *

"Ha! Did you really think you could beat me? How pathetic!"

What went wrong? Why was I hurting so much?

"Is that all you have? The Elements of Harmony? Should change your name to the Elements of __Lose__ _ony_!"

The Elements of Harmony? If this...this...thing was fighting the Elements of Harmony, then why was I hurting?

"And you! The Element of Happiness! You're the weakest of them all! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

For some reason, the being pointed at me and my severely beaten body. I coughed very hard, then proceeded looking around. Laying on the ground all around me were the other Elements of Harmony, all six of them.

My jaw immediately dropped, and some blood started pouring out from my mouth. Was I dying?

I looked up at the shadow of the being who had defeated the Elements of Harmony as well as myself. I recognized a hoof hanging in the air above me as the being began conversing with me.

"Always remember: you were the weakest Element of them all!"

And with that said, the being's hoof came crashing down onto my neck and head. I had passed out from exhaustion and loss of blood afterward, though my mind was still trying to process what exactly was going on. A faint ringing could be heard from beyond although I was unable to sense where exactly they were coming from. The sounds started becoming clearer and clearer as time went by. They seemed to be calling out to me.

"Robert, darling! Dear me..."

The voices seemed to be coming from inside my head; voices that sounded an awful lot like Rarity's voice. I was stunned, unaware of what exactly was happening around me.

"Robert, dear," continued Rarity, "you have to wake up!"

Wake up? I was asleep? Then why were the voices so clear? Last thing I remember was myself getting beaten harshly along with the Elements of Harmony. I remember that a being defeated us - a tall one, for that matter. I remember him coming up to me and telling me, the Element of Happiness, that I was the weakest Element of them all. Two things shocked me in that preposition. The first was that the Elements of Harmony were defeated. The second was that I was the Element of Happiness, an Element I've never even heard of!

"Forgive me for this, Robert," I heard Rarity say.

Forgive her for-

 _ _SPLASH!__

Yowch! That was hot as hell!

"What? Huh? Wha-I'm awake!"

"Thank heaven, too," Rarity told me, "you seemed to be trapped in the most horrid of nightmares, Robert. Are you alright?"

I climbed out of the bed and shook myself dry. Honestly, wet fur doesn't feel quite right. Scratch that; it doesn't feel good at all. I just wish that I hadn't wet the items that surrounded me, including Rarity - a bit. I opened my eyes and saw Rarity and her somewhat displeased look on her face as I saw her stylish mane get wet.

"Oh my!" I exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, Rarity,"

"It's quite alright, Robert," replied Rarity, "I guess I did deserve it for wetting you in your sleep."

"My apologies, though, Rarity," I fixated.

"Were you having a nightmare, dear?" Rarity confronted me.

I looked away, shutting my eyes slowly.

"I'm sorry, dear," Rarity told me.

"No," I replied, "it's fine. And yes, I did have a nightmare..."

"Care to talk about it, Robert?"

"I need to tell someone, so sure," I said.

We went downstairs into the living room and sat down on a couch-type thing. I mean, it looked like a couch, but it also looked like a really fancy bench. Is there a happy medium between the two that I don't know about? Anyway, we both sat down and I started sighing.

"Where to begin..." I started.

"Start anywhere you want, darling," Rarity said, wrapping a hoof around my neck and positioning herself closer to me.

I smiled slightly. It wasn't a false smile, though it also wasn't truly a true one either. I looked up towards the ceiling and started to recall my bizarre dream.

"For some reason," I started, "you - and by you I mean the Elements of Harmony - were in the midst of a battle with a tall being that I couldn't fully identify."

"Really?" Rarity asked, showing signs of surprise in her voice.

"Yes," I continued, "I was there as well and, according to the being, I was the Element of Happiness, which is an Element I've never even heard of!"

"Neither have I, darling," Rarity chimed.

"Anyway, the being defeated you as well as me and he came up to me." I paused for a quick second to regain my breath. "The being towered over me and pointed to my blood-spattered body. He told me that I, the Element of Happiness, was the weakest Element of them all!"

"That's peculiar, Robert," Rarity told me.

"How so?" I immediately asked.

"Well," continued Rarity, "you clearly aren't weak at all. No, you're strong."

"Thank you, Rarity," I meekly replied, "but I'm not so sure about that."

"You are, darling," Rarity assured, "don't be so hard on yourself."

I smiled a bit more as Rarity complimented me.

"As for you and your Element of 'Happiness,'" Rarity motioned her front hooves as she said that, "I've never heard of such a thing. Perhaps we should see if Twilight would know anything on that."

"You think she would?" I asked doubtfully. "I mean, I've never heard of an Element like that. All I know is that there are six elements and that you and your friends represent each of them. Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness, Rainbow Dash is the Element of Loyalty, Applejack is the Element of Honesty, Pinkie Pie is the Element of Laughter, you are the Element of Generosity, and Twilight is the Element of Magic."

"You know your stuff," Rarity replied, revealing tones of amazement and excitement in her voice, causing me to blush a bit.

"Thanks." I said while rubbing the back of my neck.

"Come," Rarity told me, "let's visit Twilight and see what she knows."

We then stood up and proceeded outside. Rarity was preparing herself to shut the door with her magic, but I stopped her from doing so.

"Allow me," I insisted.

Using my magic (which, on a side note, I absolutely loved the emerald aura it had), I gained control of the door and slowly closed it. I made sure to be as delicate as possible when moving it since Twilight told me that any kind of distraction to a unicorn while they are performing magic can be dangerous.

"Such nice manners," exclaimed Rarity.

I smiled brightly as we began to visit Twilight to see if she knew anything about my dream and the Element of Happiness. I didn't expect Twilight to know anything on the subject, so my hopes weren't up that high.

The walk seemed to go by quickly, much like how it was yesterday with Applejack (I keep forgetting that full-length distances were never shown on the show). We approached Twilight's home within a matter of minutes and approached the wooden door slowly. Rarity knocked ever so elegantly on the door and then positioned herself back next to me while we waited patiently. Within a few seconds, Twilight opened the door and greeted the two of us.

"Hello there," Twilight told us, high amounts of praise sounding in her voice.

"Hi, Twilight," I replied.

"Good day, Twilight," Rarity added, "May we come in?"

"Of course." Twilight answered, leading us inside. "How are you both doing today?"

"I'm fine, thank you." I replied.

"That's good," smiled Twilight, turning to Rarity, "and how about you, Rarity?"

"I'm well, Twilight," Rarity said, "where is Lunar?"

"Lunar is away in Canterlot taking care of some royal business with Princess Luna." Twilight answered.

"Sounds important," smiled Rarity.

"It probably is," agreed Twilight, beaming her toothy-white smile in the process. "So what brings you both here today?"

"Well," started Rarity, "Robert here had this unusual dream last night and he wanted to find out more about it."

"Really?" Twilight asked, turning her attention towards me. "How weird?"

"Really weird, Twilight," I staggered.

"Care to explain?" Twilight excitedly asked.

"Well," I reiterated, "last night, I dreamt about the Elements of Harmony. However, they were battling a being that I couldn't identify and had defeated you. I was there as well and the being also defeated me. When he came up to me, he pointed towards my blood-spattered body and told me that the Element of Happiness, whom he earlier identified was me, was the weakest Element of them all. After that, I awoke to...well...let's leave it at I woke up."

Rarity glanced over and began to blush a bit. Twilight, however, idolized each word I said as if they came from Princess Celestia or something. After a short while, she sat down on a nearby bench and began to say something.

"I must say," she started, "that is an interesting dream. What really interests me the most is the Element of Happiness. I myself have never heard of such an Element. Perhaps Princess Celestia has. I'll have Spike write a letter to Princess Celestia later, asking if she has any knowledge on that. As for the dream, it is currently very unlikely that somepony could defeat us now. Has it happened in the past before? Of course. Now, though, that is extremely unlikely that such an event will occur."

"Hope you're right, Twilight," I replied.

Was she right? Are the Elements of Harmony unbeatable now? And what about me? Is there such a thing as the Element of Happiness and am I the Element holder? Why would I be the Element holder?

"As a matter of fact," Twilight thought to herself, tapping her hoof against the ground in the process, "I'll have Spike write that letter now."

"Sounds like a good idea, Twilight," I honestly answered.

"Spike," called Twilight, "could you come down here please?"

"In a minute!" returned Spike.

Twilight turned her head back towards Rarity and I and began telling us something else.

"We'll ask Princess Celestia now rather than later on in the day." Twilight told us. "Who knows...she may be available now and may not be later. Plus, the sooner we contact her, the better."

Silence trickled down in the room shortly afterwards – awkward silence. Spike eventually came downstairs and immediately noticed Rarity standing in the room. He ran over and positioned himself right next to Rarity, leaving her standing in the middle between myself and himself.

"You didn't tell me that Rarity was here..." Spike whispered, hearts filling his eyes.

"Thought it would be better if we kept that a surprise, my little Spikey-Wikey." Rarity calmly answered, placing a hoof on top of Spike's head.

"Oh, yeah..." a lovestruck Spike quietly said.

I saw Twilight roll her eyes before dragging a paper and quill over to Spike with her magic.

"Focus, Casanova," Twilight said, "I need you to write an important letter to the Princess."

"I thought the days of reporting your lessons on friendship were over," Spike replied, "why are you still writing to her?"

"It __is__ nice to write to see how she is doing, Spike," scolded Twilight, "and this isn't a letter about the lessons on friendship. I need you to write to Princess Celestia regarding important information."

"'Important' information?" questioned Spike, "Like what? You learning how to use your wings?"

Both Rarity and myself couldn't help but chuckle as Spike said that. It was obvious that Twilight had trouble adjusting to her wings and that she chose not to use them often. However, it was a funny joke that Spike told us, even if it ended up with Twilight giving him a cold stare.

"No, Spike," Twilight sarcastically spoke, "Robert here had an unusual nightmare last night about a seventh Element of Harmony, the Element of Happiness, an Element nopony has even heard of. I want to write to Princess Celestia regarding if she knows anything about that."

"Sounds odd," Spike opinionated, "but it's your letter."

"Ready, Spike?" Twilight asked, regarding if he was ready to write the letter.

Spike rose the quill up to the paper, showing Twilight that he was ready to write down the letter.

"Dear Princess Celestia," started Twilight, "my new friend, Robert, a unicorn, recently had a nightmare in which he was presented with a seventh Element of Harmony, to which he was the Element bearer. This seventh Element, the Element of Happiness, is something that I'm not too familiar with or even heard of. Does this particular Element exist and, if so, do you have any background knowledge about the Element of Happiness? Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

"Twi-light...Spar-kle." Spike reiterated. "Got it!"

"Good," praised Twilight, "now send it to her."

"Now, Twilight?" questioned Spike.

"Yes, Spike," Twilight answered, "now."

"It's best that we send it now," Rarity chimed, "for all we know, the Princess could be free at this very moment."

Spike rolled up the scroll and put a seal on it. Opening up a window, he breathed fire on it, and sent the letter on it's merry way up to Canterlot. Twilight glanced back towards both Rarity and myself and assured us that the Princess will reply with an answer immediately.

"You sound so sure of yourself, Twilight," I offered.

"I know that the Princess always takes immediate action when I write something to her," Twilight happily replied, "I am...I mean, I was her star student after all."

Don't we know, right?

"What do you say we pay Pinkie Pie a visit while we wait for a reply from the Princess," offered Twilight.

"Sounds good to me," I answered.

"I suppose it will make the time fly by faster, as it were." Rarity added.

"Yum..." Spike mumbled, licking his lips, "a trip to Sugar Cube Corner? Count me in!"

We all then left the Golden Oaks Library in a jiffy as Twilight showed us outside. When we were all outside, Twilight used her magic to close the door, turning to the rest of us as we began trotting down the road to Sugar Cube Corner.

"I hope they have my favorite there..." Spike fantasized.

"Oh? What's your favorite, Spike?" I asked.

"Sapphire Cupcakes..." Spike said, mouth drooling from his fantasized image.

I looked at Rarity and Twilight as we began to smile and laugh. Along the way to Sugar Cube Corner, Princess Celestia replied to our letter, sending it straight to Twilight, via Spike. Twilight smiled at the presence of a letter, and glanced over towards me.

"I told you that the Princess will take immediate action," Twilight told me.

"I didn't doubt you __that__ much, Twilight," I replied, sticking my tongue out playfully at her.

Spike reached down and picked up the letter, unraveled the scroll, and began to read it aloud to the three of us.

"Dear Twilight," Spike began, "I am flattered that you still consider yourself my faithful student, though as you may as well know, that is not true anymore. Like I told you, you are still my student, just not in the same way anymore. Rather, we are your students now. As for your request about a seventh Element of Harmony, I must admit that this is true; there does exist a seventh Element. It was foretold that the seventh Element bearer will travel to us from another realm. The seventh Element will be the most crucial Element when powerful villains arise and join together. The Elements of Harmony you're familiar with are just six of the seven Elements that exist in our sacred world. As for the location of the Element of Happiness, I do not know that entirely. It is located somewhere within the Everfree Forest, past the location of the original six Elements you originally found. If it isn't too much of a hassle, I would like for you and your friends, Robert included, to visit me in Canterlot as soon as possible. With regards, Princess Celestia."

 _ _What a long letter...__ I thought.

Turning towards Twilight, she had a determined look on her face, telling all of us that we should depart for Canterlot as quickly as possible.

"Based off of what the Princess told us," began Twilight, "the future of Equestria could be at stake here!"

"Is that so?" I questioned.

Twilight nodded, then looked towards Rarity. "Rarity," she began, "can you round up Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy then meet back up near the train station?"

"I shall do just that, Twilight," Rarity obliged, heading out to round up half of the crew.

"Come along, Spike," Twilight called. She then she turned to me. "You too, Robert. The quicker we gather everypony, the quicker we can get to Canterlot."

"There's the train!" Twilight shouted.

We, and by we I mean Rarity, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and myself, had waited for the next train to Canterlot at the Ponyville Train Station for approximately fifteen minutes. The train was just as colorful as it had appeared in the show and the coaches seemed much bigger on the inside than they appeared on the outside.

"Ready to see Canterlot?" Twilight asked me, putting all worries aside for the moment.

"Well," I started, "seeing the capital of Equestria and getting a chance to meet absolute royalty, other than yourself and Prince Lunar, obviously, is a chance that clearly not every...pony gets."

"Not at all," Twilight replied.

I smiled at her answer, turning my head towards the window. The countryside on the outside was simply beautiful beyond words. Well, the only words that came to mind were stunning, colorful, warm, inviting, spectacular.

Back home in the north, the land was only like this during the dead of autumn, where the leaves fell, the temperature was simply perfect, and the crisp, cool mountainside was as colorful as can be. Autumn up in the north, near the Appalachian Mountains, was a beautiful time of the year, one that I'd certainly never forget, but always cherish.

The land passing by outside the train was just that, colorful, beautiful, and inviting. Watching it go by was making me feel like I was calm, in my serenity, in other words. I felt as if I was in my backyard, playing football like we used to do on Thanksgiving each year with my father, cousins, and co-workers (yes, we did occasionally invite co-workers over for Thanksgiving). Each year it would always be my father, two of my cousins, and myself against my other cousin and our co-workers. It would always be close, the game being decided by one or two points, but it definitely was fun and a wonderful experience that I'll always cherish.

"How are you enjoying your new life, Robert?" A curious Pinkie Pie asked.

I turned my attention from the outside world to Pinkie Pie, preparing to answer the intriguing question that she asked.

"It's an experience," I answered back, "I mean, it is truly an...enjoyable time here."

Nobody seemed to catch my sudden pause in between answering Pinkie's question. Nobody, except Twilight, that is.

"Why'd you pause, Robert?" She called out, causing everyone to glue their eyes on me.

I became nervous. I was not one for a speech or an answer, knowing that I was the one and only soul speaking in front of multiple ones. I never felt this way in front of my friends, but since I was still trying to connect with these ponies, a proposition went whizzing by in my head.

I thought that if I lied to them, I would lose the trust that I had built with each and every one of them. However, if I told the truth, then perhaps my new friends would accept me and my answer. Or, it could backfire, and I lose them no matter what. I have never seen the second option shown in the show, so I figured that if I told the truth, they would accept my answer.

"Well?" Twilight asked.

"The reason for the pause was that, looking at the countryside outside," I started, "I began thinking about home, about the time I had spent with my family when they were alive. Taking that in was tough, causing me to pause for a short while, a while that nopony seemed to notice but you, Twilight. I honestly had a hard time taking that in without breaking tears so the pause was the next best thing. I'm sorry if I hurt any of your feelings."

I noticed Twilight was left with an open jaw, either embarrassed or guilty for making me explain myself. After some time, she proceeded to ask me a question.

"Do you want to stay with us?" She asked me.

"I'd love to see home once more, but I can no longer do that since I was killed back home." I answered. "Honestly, I love being here, with all of you. It's just that..."

"...the memories of home make you homesick?" Rarity questioned.

"Just a bit..." I meekly replied, staring back out the window, watching the lovely landscape pass by.

The rest of the car was silent, either because they didn't know what to say next, or because they wanted to appreciate my feelings.

"Back home," I sighed, "when I wasn't alone, I felt on top of the world." I turned my head back at the six welcoming and colorful ponies. "Then it slowly went downhill as, one by one, my family started shrinking in number. I'd rather not discuss how they...moved on, but the number of moves started adding up, last being mine." I looked back out the window. "The only remaining family member that I felt close to is my little sister, Ariana."

"Who's Ariana?" Pinkie Pie asked me.

 _ _I thought I told them about her,__ _I thought._

Another item that was processing through my mind was that I was slightly being forced to break the fourth wall, which was something Pinkie Pie knew how to do and (only once) Twilight. If I had to explain who Ariana was, I'd definitely have to explain how she loved each of the ponies and if I did that, one of the six would ask me how Ariana knew who they were and then I'd be forced to explain that this world is a work of fiction, a false world, a created world. They would understand...right?

"Umm...Ariana was my little sister..." I began. I decided to break the fourth wall and explain how this world, Equestria, was a work of fiction. "She loved each of you very much, her favorite being Twilight. When our parents...moved on, I was too depressed and unfit to take care of her, so I had her sent away to my uncle from my father's side of the family, a side I rarely knew or even engaged with."

Twilight offered her condolences as she used her magic to spawn a handkerchief and wipe the tears from my eyes.

"I'm sorry..." was all Twilight told me as the handkerchief spawned away.

"It's okay, Twilight," I replied.

I guess breaking the fourth wall went undetected this time around. I decided that it was best to not play with fire like that again as the train began pulling into the Canterlot Train Station. The train slowly began coming to a halt, releasing steam upon stopping, then opening the doors up.

"Here we are!" Twilight said.

"Canterlot!" Rarity chimed in her English sounding voice.

I stepped out of the coach and glanced around. Canterlot was huge; much bigger than it appeared to be in the show!

"Do you like it, Robert?" Twilight asked, trying to hold back her giggles.

"It's amazing..." I answered in reply.

Looking around at the tall buildings almost felt as if I were back home. Every time we would go to New York City or Boston, the tall buildings always fascinated me beyond belief. I always wanted to live in a place like that but never found the opportunity to do so.

Snapping out of the trance I was in, I closely followed the group of ponies down the road, working our way towards the castle located at the far end of town.

"It's so beautiful," I said, breaking some silence.

"Isn't it?" Rarity added. "I've always dreamed of living here. The glamor, the sophistication! A pony of my standards should live here!"

"It is magical," Twilight spoke, "living here was absolutely amazing. Just being able to see the Princess raise and lower the sun and moon as a filly was amazing. Not only that, but living in the same town as the Princess is truly fantastic."

"Look," exclaimed Pinkie, "up ahead!"

Ahead of us was the astounding Canterlot Castle, home to both Princess Celestia and, my personal favorite, Princess Luna. Twilight looked over towards me and noticed my gleaming eyes as I was admiring the castle from top to bottom.

"So," started Twilight, "are you ready to meet the Princess face-to-face?"

"Absolutely, Twilight." I quickly replied.

Twilight smiled as she led all of us inside the castle. The halls were enormous inside the castle, appearing much bigger than how the outside of the castle portrayed them to be.

We saw plenty of castle guards on the way to the throne room and they all appeared to be very heavily trained and protective of themselves plus their immediate surroundings. A good number of them were Pegasus guards while there were a decent amount of unicorn guards as well.

A few minutes more had passed before we finally arrived at a large, double-wide, heavy looking door, guarded by two unicorns. Twilight approached one of them and started telling him something.

"Princess Celestia has requested the appearance of all of us, sir," she told him.

"Right away, Your Highness," replied the guard, using his magic to open up the doors.

The doors were embraced with a bright white aura, originating from both unicorns, as they slowly opened up the heavy doors. As soon as they were opened fully, we started going inside the room. The throne room was a long, colorful hallway, lined up with plenty of window panes, each of which told a different and unique story. The one window pane that really caught my eye was the one with the Elements of Harmony transformed Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna. For some reason, that pane stuck out more to me than the others, probably because it was the first accomplishment made by Twilight and her friends or maybe because Princess Luna was in it.

Either way, at the end of the throne room stood the two regal sisters, Princess Celestia, whom was positioned on a throne higher than that of her sister, Princess Luna. Also stood inside the throne room, standing next to Princess Luna, was Prince Lunar, who was looking at us, as was the two sisters.

"Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia started, "it's so wonderful to see you. How have things been as of late?"

"Everything is simply wonderful, Princess Celestia," replied Twilight, she looked towards Lunar. "Hello there, Lunar."

"Hello, Twily," Lunar smiled.

"I see you've brought your new friend, Robert, if I remember correctly." continued Celestia.

"That's right, Princess," answered Twilight.

Celestia studied me very carefully, eyeballing me all over my emerald colored body. Finally, she spoke up.

"So you're the Robert I've heard so much about." Princess Celestia told me.

"Umm...th-that's right, Your Highness," I stammered.

Celestia giggled, "Calm down, my little pony," she told me, "there's no reason to be so nervous."

"Sorry..." I meekly replied.

Silence fell over for a short while, only to be broken up by Princess Luna.

"You're the one from the alternate realm then, are you not?" Princess Luna asked.

"I beg your pardon?"

Luna pointed a hoof at me, asking, "Are you the one from the alternate realm, Robert?"

"Umm...I guess so," I answered, "yes."

"Hmm..."

Luna seemed to gaze at me hard, almost as if she didn't trust me at all. I don't blame her, she did have a hard time fitting in with everyone back in Ponyville. Plus, she has been locked away for a thousand years up in the moon. Honestly, I wonder how she took that or even what she did for a thousand years.

"Pardon my younger sister," Celestia said, "she __can__ be a bit adamant."

"Very funny, sister," Luna sarcastically spoke.

"It's okay, Princess Luna," Lunar spoke, "you're just being defensive."

"Ponies coming from alternate realms have proven to be distrustful in the past," Luna stated, "you are from an alternate realm. If you wish to get my trust, thou has to earn it."

I stared at Princess Luna, slightly fearful – she was a powerful pony, after all – but slightly amazed at her elegant presence. The others stared at me, then at stared at the two royal sisters. Lunar went over to Twilight and embraced her with a hug, wrapping a wing around her body. A few, short moments later, we had begun discussing the important matters that brought us here in the first place.

"Now," Celestia spoke, "I have some interesting news to tell all seven of you."

"And what might that be, Princess?" asked Twilight.

"The seventh Element of Harmony, the Element of Happiness," continued Celestia, "belongs to Robert."

"What?" I uncomfortably chuckled.

"You, Robert, are the holder of the Element of Happiness." Celestia assured.

"But how can that be?" I asked. "No offense intended Your Highness, but I highly doubt that I am the holder of the Element of Happiness for a couple reasons. First, I just recently came to this world and second, I've never heard of such an Element before."

"Question," Celestia quickly replied, "how would you know if the Element of Happiness existed if you just recently came to our fair world?"

"You'd have no knowledge of what Elements existed in our world prior to coming here," added Luna.

"I thought the same thing while performing my dream walking duties last night, Princess Luna," Lunar added. "You took off the day that featured some of the more interesting details in the dreams of certain ponies, you know?"

"We share that duty, my star student," Luna smiled towards Lunar before staring back at me.

"Well, Robert?" Lunar asked me. "Care to explain yourself?"

"I...uh...you see..."

"Explain yourself, Robert," Luna demanded.

I began panicking on the inside. Everyone's eyes were glued on me as I just stood there, speechless. Luna's horn started glowing in the magnificent indigo aura, signaling her tracing her ability to use her magic, I guess as a way of threatening me what could happen if I chose not to answer.

I gulped, "I...uh..."

Luna and Celestia glanced heavily at me, as did Lunar and the Elements of Harmony...my new friends...

"Go on," Celestia requested.

"Explain yourself," Luna added.

"The reason I know much about what Elements existed," I sighed, "is because...because..."

"Because what?" snapped Luna.

"Because..." I sighed once more, "in...my world," I paused as I glanced over at my new friends. I felt a tear begin to escape from my eye and run down the side of my face as I finished answering the question that was forced upon me.

"Yes?" Luna impatiently asked.

"In my world," I continued, "you all are a work of fiction..."

There was an unbearable and extremely uncomfortable silence that followed after I said that, almost like they were all heartbroken. Some time later, Celestia quietly proceeded by asking me yet another question.

"What do you mean?" She glumly asked.

"Back home," I slowly replied, "this world is the setting of a television show meant for little girls. However, the show attracted both little children and young adults, mainly for the colorful attractions that exist in this world, or perhaps the strong plots each episode had. Either way, I had a younger sister back home that loved watching you work out your problems and find lessons pertaining to friendship. The only reason I know so much about this world is because my younger sister, Ariana, loved watching it with me. So, in essence, I know how Twilight became an alicorn, how she used to be your star student, Princess, how she traveled to an alternate version of my world to retrieve her crown that one of your former students, Sunset Shimmer, stole, and then some. I know how the Elements of Harmony were founded, how Twilight retrieved the Elements, which Element belongs to which pony, what each pony does around town...putting it in perspective, Your Highness, I know an awful lot about this world since you, Equestria, every...pony was astonishingly popular back home. People back home often write interesting stories, called fan fictions, involving this world, or any world in particular, myself included. I'm sorry if this is a lot to take in, Your Highness, my friends, everypony. This is the one de...er, speech, I wished I hadn't spoken..."

Everyone looked stunned as I skimmed my view around the room. Honestly, breaking the fourth wall, and to the extent that I went and broke it, was harsh and a horrific event that shouldn't have occurred. I wouldn't be at all surprised if my friends felt betrayed and never wanted to speak to me again. It was a lot to take in and a lot for me to offer. I turned around and slowly began walking out of the room, with my head hanging down as low as it would go.

"Wait!" Twilight called, voice echoing along the walls of the large throne room.

I turned my lowly head around and noticed Twilight approaching me, closely followed by the other five ponies, as well as the two princesses and Lunar.

"Where are you going?" continued Twilight.

"Well...aren't you all mad at me for keeping that information from you?" I quietly asked.

"Of course not, Robert," Celestia answered.

"It doesn't matter if we are fictional or not," Pinkie added.

"All that matters is that we ourselves are as happy as we can be, darling." chimed Rarity.

"So...you're not disappointed or angry with me, then?" I asked.

"Of course not, Robert," answered Twilight.

"Right, y'all have gone through a lot recently." Applejack added.

"Yeah," Rainbow responded, "as long as we're happy, then-"

"Then we are real." Luna interrupted.

Tears started falling out of my eyes more rapidly now, knowing that, despite breaking the fourth wall horrendously, my friends still decided to stand with me by my side.

"You are the greatest friends a pony could've asked for." I happily spoke through my tears.

"As are you, Robert." Twilight replied.

We engaged each other in a group hug with myself being wrapped up in the middle. After a short while, Celestia got right back down to business, proceeding with what she needed to tell us almost as if I had never broke the fourth wall.

"Twilight," Celestia started, "I need you to go find the Element of Happiness. It is imperative that you find it quickly since a prophesy foretold us that a powerful villain will rise up and can only be defeated if and when the seventh Element of Harmony is present."

"Go, Twilight Sparkle," Luna told Twilight, "retrieve the Element of Happiness. The future of Equestria is in your hooves now."

"We'll find it as quick as possible, Princess." Twilight assured. She turned back around and faced the all of us, "Let's go!"

"Be careful Twilight." Lunar told her. He then turned to Luna. "Unless my time here is done and I can aid them."

"You may accompany them, Prince Lunar," Luna addressed. She then whispered something I was unable to hear to him.

With Twilight leading the way and Lunar accompanying us now, we rushed out of the throne room as fast as our hooves could carry us, proceeding back to the Canterlot Train Station so that we could travel back to Ponyville to search for my Element of Harmony, the Element of Happiness.

* * *

"Do you have any idea what it looks like, Twilight?" A curious Pinkie Pie asked.

"Honestly," began Twilight, "when we found the Elements of Harmony – our Elements – they were just stones. Perhaps the Element of Happiness is the same, simply a stone."

"Then how do we get the actual Element, Twilight?" I asked.

"What do you mean, Robert?" Lunar questioned.

"It is true that when the Elements of Harmony were found originally, they were just mere stone carvings," I replied, "however, actual Elements fully appeared after the stones were shattered by Nightmare Moon."

"You're right, Robert," Twilight pointed out, "our Elements appeared after Nightmare Moon shattered the stone carvings of the Elements, but that was simply the other five Elements. Mine appeared out of thin air after I felt a spark that ignited inside of me after I felt happy to see all of my friends, to know that they cared for me, that they helped me out in one of my times of need. I felt happy to see them and was proud to know that they were my friends, thus summoning my Element of Magic. Perhaps when we find your Element, it'll react in the same way."

"That could be a possibility..." I said, rubbing my chin with my hoof.

"Any possibility is better than no possibility, darling," Rarity inserted.

"Right," Twilight agreed as the train we were waiting for started approaching the station.

The train came to a complete stop, slowing down fairly nicely and comfortably for the passengers on board. When the doors to the coaches opened up, the eight of us calmly boarded the train and proceeded to a section of seats that were left untouched and separated from the rest of the car.

"All aboard!" The conductor yelled, closely followed by the train's whistle blowing.

Steam from the train was let off before the train began moving once more. As the train's engine started and the train began moving, Twilight turned to the rest of us and began planning just how we may find the Element of Happiness.

"Once we arrive back in Ponyville," she began, "we'll quickly head straight towards the Everfree Forest."

"Th-the Ever f-f-free F-Forest?" squeaked Fluttershy.

"Yes," Twilight assured, "the Everfree Forest. I know it isn't the best place Fluttershy, but we have to go into the forest to find the Element of Happiness."

Fluttershy replied with silence, cowering up behind my back. I smiled as I began stroking her mane with my hoof gently.

"There, there, Fluttershy," I said, "we'll find it quickly and be out of the forest in no time."

Fluttershy squeaked something else, though I couldn't tell what she said as Twilight continued on with her plan for retrieving the Element of Happiness.

"Once we're inside the Forest, we'll immediately make our way towards the old castle where we found our Elements before." Twilight continued. "Princess Celestia did tell us that the Element of Happiness was located further than where our Elements were, so we'll search every possible location for the Element. We'll search every nook and every cranny for this Element if it means that it will help save Equestria from certain doom."

"Hey, Twi," Applejack started, "Ah've been thinkin', woul'n't it be better if we had our Elements with us while we search for the Element of Happiness?"

"Hmm..." Twilight thought.

"Cause maybe, just maybe, our Elements could help us find this new Element," finished Applejack.

"She may be on to something, Twilight," Rainbow Dash chimed.

"Perhaps," Twilight replied, "I mean, our Elements could know the location of the Element of Happiness, but still," Twilight paused for a second.

"Think of it like this, Twilight," Rarity said, "if we were to have our Elements, we would be able to defend ourselves from whatever looms inside the forest. Plus, once we find Robert's Element of Happiness, we could see if it is functional with our Elements."

"I guess you have a point." Twilight responded. "So it's settled then. We'll grab our Elements before we head out into the Everfree Forest."

"You all go on to the Everfree Forest," Lunar told them, "I'll grab your Elements and meet you there."

"You know where they are, right Lunar?" Twilight asked.

"I know where they are, Twily." Lunar smiled, nuzzling Twilight's muzzle, causing her to giggle.

Shortly thereafter, Twilight turned to the rest of us and asked us if we understood the plan. Everyone nodded and agreed on the plan as we waited to arrive in Ponyville. The rest of the train ride was quiet, for the most part. The chugs of the train along with the occasional whistle were really the only sounds that we heard. About ten minutes had passed before we had arrived back at the Ponyville Train Station. Once the train came to a complete stop and the doors opened up, Twilight led all of us out of the train. Standing on the platform of the station, Twilight smiled at Lunar, who smiled in response, leaving us to go collect the Elements of Harmony while Twilight took us to the Everfree Forest.

The stroll towards the outskirts of the Everfree Forest wasn't too long, ironically. We had arrived there shortly and stood before the dark and fearful forest. On the show, the darkness was portrayed by a darker shade of the same colors being used. In actuality, the Everfree Forest was as dark as the night itself, something I'm sure Princess Luna would love.

Shortly after arriving to the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, Lunar showed up with all six Elements. He hovered them over to each of the ponies that owned the respective Element. Finishing off by hovering Twilight's crown onto her head, Lunar smiled and greeted us all once more.

"Thank you, Luny," Twilight told him.

"Anything for you, Your Highness," Lunar answered in response, causing Twilight to utter a chuckle. She turned to the rest of us.

"Are you all ready to go into the forest?" Twilight asked us all.

"Ready!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack replied at the same time.

"I'm ready as well." Rarity added.

"As am I." I chimed.

"I'm super-duper ready!" Pinkie Pie enthusiastically said.

"R-R-Ready..." Fluttershy quietly squeaked.

"Then let's go!" Twilight concluded, turning to Lunar and leading the way into the dark and mysterious Everfree Forest.

Honestly, I'm quite humble to this type of surrounding. After all, I am quite fond of independence itself, you know. This...this was the equivalent of being back home, to a certain extent, that is. I made sure to cover my serenity fairly nicely, though I believe Twilight caught a glimpse of it for just a split second...a split second too long.

I glanced at the other ponies, who were all still wearing their Elements of Harmony. I knew that much since the light that both Twilight and Lunar were supplying from their horns with their magic was reflecting off of each of the Elements. Seeing the Elements was truly an amazing moment of my...well...life, I guess, though I did die.

Suddenly, as we were walking along the supremely eerie dirt path, we all heard something break and snap behind us, immediately causing Fluttershy to jump and run towards one of us for safety, this time being Twilight's turn to provide it. Immediately confronting the noise, Rainbow Dash shouted out into the dark and gloomy forest, demanding whatever it was that made that sound come out and show themselves.

"I mean it!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "Come out and show yourself!"

Silence...eerie, eerie silence...

"I'm warning you!" continued Rainbow Dash.

More silence...

"Rainbow, hold on," Twilight called as she saw Rainbow Dash begin to rush into the darkness.

"Twilight," called Lunar, "allow me to do it."

"It's okay, Lunar," Twilight called back, "I think I found something."

Rainbow Dash sighed heavily, but Twilight ignored the dissatisfied sigh and approached the darkness further. The light originating from her horn lit the surrounding area further, showing a bush that was sitting in the middle of the dirt path we were walking on; a bush that originally was not there.

Rainbow Dash jetted into the bush and blew all the leaves that were on said bush away, revealing absolutely nothing. We were all confused, knowing that this bush was not there when we passed by the area moments ago, wondering how it got here and wondering who or what was following us.

"It's nothing..." Twilight confirmed.

"Whoever put that there must've gotten away..." Rainbow Dash glumly added.

"Come on, y'all," Applejack chimed, "let's keep movin'."

"Right." agreed Twilight, pulling herself back around and leading the group deeper into the forest alongside Lunar.

I stood behind a bit longer, staring mindlessly at the severed and destroyed bush. Someone else was here with us, and they couldn't have gotten far without making some more sound. I looked back at the group and noticed that they had moved up pretty far without me. Fortunately for me, I was a unicorn and could use the magic I had to create a light similar to the one Twilight and Lunar were both making, only mine was green compared to their magenta color and white color respectively. I rushed back to the end of the group as quickly as I could, reaching them in no time. As I got closer, I relinquished the light I was providing, so that no one would be startled should they have spotted a glowing green light.

"...then maybe the Element will be there." I heard Twilight say.

 _ _What?__ I thought, a bit confused.

"That sounds like a good possibility, Twilight," Rarity replied.

"Yeah," Rainbow added, "if the Element is there, then our search will go twice as fast, which means I could squeeze in an afternoon nap after this is over."

 _ _They're talking about my Element and the possible location of it...__ I concluded. __But where did they say we should check?__

I decided to cease my thoughts on my Element and continued walking down the path. About a couple minutes have passed before I started hearing some sinister laughter, the kind of laughter a villain would own. Startled (which was something I rarely ever was), I turned around as fast as the bullet that penetrated through my head before I died. I scanned the area fast, searching for any slight movement past the strange breeze I started feeling...but...it there wasn't a breeze a moment ago.

"Girls, Lunar," I called out, "hold up for just a moment." The sound of hooves making contact with the ground slowly started coming to a halt.

"What's the matter, Robert?" Twilight asked.

"Shh!" I hissed. "Someone is following us..."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, a bit quieter than her last question. She stepped up next to me and shone her light brighter.

"Someone is out there in the forest following us..." I reiterated.

A thought came rushing through my mind as I scanned the area quickly once more. I thought that Twilight should slowly fade the light on her horn, creating the illusion that we were proceeding down the path as if we heard nothing. I thought that for a split second then decided to share it with Twilight.

"Can you slowly fade out the light coming from your horn?" I quietly requested. "You too, Lunar?"

"Why?" They both asked.

"It'll create the illusion that we are farther down in the path." I replied. "Once thirty seconds or so have passed, could you completely cease your light?"

"If you say so, Robert," obliged Twilight.

"Only for now," added Lunar.

A second thought came whizzing by in my head. This thought was about Fluttershy and how startled she would become once the light was fully dissipated. Deriving a plan to step around that, I approached Fluttershy and started comforting her a bit.

"Listen, Fluttershy," I quietly started, "Twilight and Lunar are going to stop providing the light for a short while. I need you to be brave here, Fluttershy. For the sake of finding the Element, I need you to not make any kind of sound when the light disappears. Can you do that for me?"

"I-I'll do my best..." Fluttershy squeaked.

"Could you help her, Rainbow Dash?" I requested.

"Sure thing, Rob," Rainbow agreed, stepping up next to Fluttershy to comfort her.

I smiled, then approached Twilight once more. I figured that it was best if Twilight and Lunar started fading the lights out now, as I provided the illusion of hooves trotting down the road, slowly getting quieter as the light faded even more. Once the light was gone, I ceased my sound and we all stood in the dark, horrifying forest on the dirt path. For our purposes, two things rushed through my head. The first being how well Fluttershy was handling being here in the dark, not making any sort of sounds. The second item that rushed through my head was where this creature that was following us was.

I scanned the area thoroughly, searching for the slightest movement, past the unusual breeze we were feeling. I scanned the area from the dirt path that we traveled on, to the trees, from the trunks of the trees, to the tops of them, looking for anything that was being forcefully moved.

I was prepared for pretty much anything, waiting for my prey to foolishly reveal itself to us. If there was one thing I was good at, besides playing my guitar, it was sensing and locating my prey in the wilderness. Back home, you had to be skillful at hunting animals. Certain times, especially during the end of October into the beginning of November, it was the only source of food since the nearest supermarket always ran out of food during this time of year. Funny, really...I always thought it would be the week before Thanksgiving that this would happen, not the end of October.

Either way, I squinted my eyes at a tree when I heard some shuffling and rustling of leaves coming from a tree above us. I saw a little creature up inside the tree, trying desperately to hide itself, managing to do so, for the most part. What gave the little creature away was that they failed to cover up one of their dark, maroon colored hooves.

Sidetracking a bit here, first off, if you're in pursuit or stalking a group of ponies – or anybody for any reason (no matter how strange) – at least make sure you successfully hide yourself, first. Second, if you are going to hide yourself, make sure you hide yourself utilizing colors that are relatively close to you, not the complete opposite. Lastly, and this is the most important item I learned from hunting (NOT stalking), NEVER reveal yourself. Once you reveal yourself, you are screwed.

Getting back on track here, I used my magic and forcefully pulled down the creature that was "hiding" up in the tree. Twilight lit up her horn once more, and it was revealed that this creature was a younger version of a pony, a filly, to be more exact. Twilight approached the maroon colored filly and asked what they were doing all the way out here. The little filly stood silent.

"You know, my little pony," restarted Twilight, "you really should answer a question coming from somepony of royalty. I'll ask you once more: what are you doing all the way out here by yourself?"

Once more, the little filly stood silent. I saw Lunar confronting the younger pony and demand that she answer if she didn't want...well, let's just leave it at she would've left the forest looking a bit more bluer than red. Still, they refused to answer the question. Instead, they pointed a hoof in the air, pointing to something behind us, which caused us all to turn around and search for what it was they were pointing at.

Honestly, one of us should've paid close attention to the little filly because, when we turned back around, she was gone. Putting that odd event behind us, we continued in our pursuit to find my Element of Harmony, the Element of Happiness.

After a while of more walking and more eerie silence, we saw a dim light up ahead and a little to the left. I figured that we must be close to a structure, perhaps even the Element itself.

"Look," exclaimed Pinkie, "up ahead!"

She pointed a hoof towards the structure as we got closer. The light was fairly dim, reminiscent of trying to see something in the dead of night. As we got closer, I confirmed that this structure was not the same as the structure Twilight and the others originally went in to retrieve the Elements of Harmony, so perhaps this was the location of my Element.

"Come on," Twilight said, "let's go inside."

Everyone bravely stepped inside the crumbling, stone structure, with the exception of Fluttershy, who cowardly stepped inside. As we proceeded down one of the destroyed hallways, the light we saw earlier had started growing brighter and brighter and brighter until we were finally met face to face with the originating source.

"There it is..." Rarity exclaimed.

"The Element of Happiness!" Twilight shouted.

"Ooooh..." admired Pinkie and Fluttershy.

"Meh...I've seen better..." Rainbow scoffed, causing Applejack to roll her eyes.

"So..." Twilight told me.

"So what?" I replied, still admiring the stone that contained my Element of Harmony.

Twilight giggled at my reply. "Go on...go get your Element of Harmony."

"The quicker you do this," added Lunar, "the quicker we can leave this...place."

"Oh..."

I slowly approached the bright, round stone and was sure to be extra careful when I grabbed it. Meeting it face-to-face, I used my magic to carefully take off the stone and place it gently on the ground. As I did that, the others gathered around the stone, creating almost a perfect circle around the stone.

"If we use our Elements of Harmony on this stone," Twilight started, "perhaps the Element of Happiness will reveal itself to us."

A charade of agreements closely followed Twilight's idea and so they began to charge up their Elements. Seeing this up close and personal was amazing since the details that were never captured on the show were showing themselves here to me. For one, I got to see how each Element activated truthfully and actually. As each Element successfully charged up, Twilight charged up her crown's Element. After a while, an extremely bright and colorful rainbow shot out from the six of them. The rainbow started spiraling, resembling the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), then bent over and pelted the stone on the ground. The stone took in the power from the Elements of Harmony and shot it straight back out in all directions, ceasing the power coming from the other six Elements and causing the ponies to collapse on the ground from exhaustion. Lunar ran over to check up on Twilight, although my eyes were locked on to the Element stone.

After a while, the Element stone began glowing, brighter than before. It then started levitating in the air and made its way over towards where I was. It broke off into seven different pieces and the pieces started wrapping themselves around me, ultimately combining itself with my body and forming the seventh Element of Harmony, the Element of Happiness, to appear.

The seventh Element, just like the other five (not including Twilight's crown), was a necklace that was in the shape of a happy face (I know, really original and creative [insert sarcasm here]). It was an emerald color, almost matching my coat color and started pulling me into the air.

In the air, the Element of Happiness released some power and pelted the six collapsed ponies and even Lunar. I tried my best to stop the power, since it appeared to be hurting Twilight and the others, but I had no control over it.

The Element of Happiness was attempting to destroy the other six Elements of Harmony. It's almost as if this Element was trying to get rid of the other Elements.

"Stop this right now!" Lunar snapped at me.

"I'm trying!" I yelled back, trying to tame this rouge Element.

Finding enough strength to do so, I used both of my front hooves to tear off the Element of Happiness from around my neck and threw it straight to the ground. Honestly, it wasn't my best choice, seeing how it caused me to collapse to the ground, but it did stop the onslaught of the original Elements of Harmony.

Looking around, each pony had begun coughing, probably either as a result from the Element of Happiness and it's rouge behavior, or possibly the dust that was around us. I saw Pinkie Pie stand back up first, slowly followed by Rainbow Dash. Lunar helped Twilight up, whom was the very last pony to stand back up.

 _ _Is it me,__ I thought to myself, __or do they look a tad different?__

I noticed a few changes in these ponies and their features, compared to a couple minutes ago. First and foremost, the major minor feature (kind of an oxymoron listed, major minor) that was different was the fact that each of the ponies were brightly colored. Sure, they were already brightly colored, but now, they were like how a neon color stands out compared to regular colors. Second, each of them had appeared to grow slightly, matching my height, with the exception of Pinkie, who was slightly shorter than the rest of us. However, even with their increased height, we were all still slightly shorter than Prince Lunar. Lastly, and this only appeared on Twilight, I noticed an extra streak of rose color in Twilight's mane (in other words, instead of the one strand of hair being a rose color, there were now two). I wasn't really sure what the two rose strands did differently, I just happened to notice that.

"Are you all fine?" I asked, reverting my attention back from minor details to their health.

"Fine?" Pinkie quickly questioned.

"Ah feel better than fine," added Applejack.

"I feel totally awesome!" Rainbow told me.

"Don't you normally feel awesome, Rainbow Dash?" Lunar asked, chuckling as well.

"Yeah," continued Rainbow, "but now I feel at least 20% cooler!"

"To each their own, I guess." I replied.

Twilight and Rarity were the last two ponies to answer, minus Fluttershy, who appeared to look fine. Both Twilight and Rarity claimed to have felt a bit more stronger now compared to approximately five minutes ago.

"What happened?" asked Twilight.

"Well," I began, "the Element of Happiness went rouge, appearing to damage each and every one of you. However, that clearly can't be the case since you all appear to look stronger now then a few moments ago."

"So where's the Element, Robert?" Pinkie asked me.

I pointed towards the Element that I threw towards the ground so that the attack on the other Elements would cease. Twilight tilted her head a bit, a tad confused as to why the Element was on the ground. When she asked why it was on the ground, I began to answer her back, only to be interrupted by a sound coming from the destroyed hallway we were in a short while ago.

Instinctively, I spun around as fast as a jet speeds through the air. I calmly raised my ears to see if I could pick up on any other sounds coming from the hallway, mainly foot...I mean, hoofsteps. Fortunately, everyone had remained silent as I tried to listen in on them.

I heard a " _CLANG!_ " coming from the hallway, probably the result of something either tipping over or something bumping into something else; the hallway was dark, after all.

After a short while of horrible, mind numbing silence, I began to hear more hoofsteps coming from the hallway, and they sounded as if they were nearing our location. Turning back around, Lunar and myself recommended that everyone look for a position to hide themselves while we stood in the center of the room.

Following our instructions, everyone hid themselves as Lunar used his magic to quietly shoot the source of light and darken the room entirely. The hoofsteps were fairly close by now as Lunar and myself stood in the center of the chamber that once held my Element of Happiness, watching only the entrance for any slight movement.

Squinting my eyes, I poured all my attention out onto the entrance, waiting for whatever was in the hallway to come in and reveal itself, that way, I could take it down.

 _ _Come on...__ I began telling myself. __Show yourself!__

Honestly, when you hunt, especially up in the north at around this time of year, you become open to anything and everything. It's almost as if you are one with nature, allowing it to tell you everything about everything, developing extra senses, such as alertness and night vision.

Moments later, as if on cue, I noticed a dark black figure that walked into the chamber the rest of us were in. Fortunately for me, the figure couldn't recognize me or spot me in this pitch black room, making it easier for me to capture my prey.

As they neared me, the Emerald aura of my magic surrounded my horn, trapping and capturing the figure that was following us in their tracks. I saw a purple aura, a white aura, and a blue aura light up the room and finally reveal who exactly was following us. Honestly, what was following us was shocking, to say the least.

"You again?" I heard Rainbow Dash say.

The little being I had caught with my magic was the same maroon colored filly from before. Now trapped, she had nowhere to go until she had answered our questions.

Just like before, Twilight stepped forward and asked the filly what she was doing out here all by herself. Instead of silence, however, she answered this time.

She answered sinisterly, if I may quickly add.

"He's coming for you..." answered the filly before disappearing into thin air.

That last part frightened all of us, especially Fluttershy. What stood on my mind, though, was what the filly told us...

Who was "he?" Should we be afraid?

"Uhh...anypony else worried 'bout what that lil filly just said?" Applejack asked.

Applejack, who was closest to the filly that vanished (with the exception of me), quickly looked behind her and asked us all that, getting a few slow nods in reply from Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. Myself, Twilight, Lunar, and Rainbow Dash tried to cover up our worries. I'd say that I did that very well.

Anyway, a few moments passed by and when a slight breeze started making its presence known, that was when we decided to grab my Element and leave this compound as quickly as possible.

The hallways were as dark as the night itself, possibly even darker. Not even the light coming from all four of our horns could fill up this hall with enough significant light. However, we did manage to navigate our way outside the crumbling structure, just in the nick of time, too.

Why did I say that, you ask? Well, once I exited the structure (I was the last pony in the group if I failed to tell you that information), the entire compound collapsed on itself, creating a cloud of dust that filled the surrounding air. I honestly felt my heart jump out of my body as the structure collapsed however, it felt as if the structure was meant to collapse, claiming whoever was still inside of it. Don't get me wrong, it was a crumbling structure, but it wasn't at the point of collapse just yet. Someone made this structure collapse, trying to stop us from returning with my Element of Harmony, but that was just a hunch.

"Anyone else find it a tad strange that the structure collapsed just as we exited it?" I calmly asked the others.

"I must admit," began Rarity, "it was a bit strange."

"But that structure was on the brink of collapsing," Twilight added, "that was bound to happen at any time."

I let that slide for now as we began to head back towards Ponyville. The journey was oddly quicker leaving the Everfree Forest than pursuing into it. We found ourselves at the edge of the forest within a half hour and immediately proceeded back towards the Ponyville Train Station. Princess Celestia made a special request to see the Element once we have retrieved it, so that's what we were going to do.

The train had arrived a bit later than usual, but that didn't bother anyone, not even Rainbow Dash, believe it or not, who hates waiting just as much as the next person...or pony, in this case. Once the train had completely stopped, we boarded on the train, setting ourselves down in a place similar to the last time, at the last row of seats in the car, separate from everyone else.

This train ride went by awfully quicker than last time, most likely since we had engaged in conversation the entire way through, having an extremely hard time keeping quiet. The one and only conversation we managed to have was about my Element of Harmony, not that that surprised me or anything.

I won't go into the full detailing of my Element of Harmony once more. By now, you know what it looks like, what color it is, where we found it, how it activates, and what it almost did to my new friends. Getting back on track here, though, the train had arrived at the Canterlot Train Station within a couple of minutes. We hopped off the train and onto the platform, immediately heading over towards the Canterlot Castle to show Princess Celestia the Element of Happiness and tell her about our journey, mainly what had happened and (most likely) about the filly who had followed us and warned us about "him."

The Canterlot Castle was truly magnificent. The castle was as bright and colorful as ever, oddly reminding me of the Crystal Castle since the light shined off it so elegantly. We headed into the castle and were immediately escorted by two royal guards, a unicorn and a Pegasus, to the large, majestic throne room. The escort was fairly quick, as we found ourselves in front of the large, double-wide throne room doors again. The unicorn guard used his magic to open the doors again and revealed to us the throne room yet again..

Inside was both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, both sitting atop their thrones. Below them, I could see that they were accompanied by another pony, an alicorn more specifically, and a pink colored one to be a little more specific. Something about this alicorn seemed familiar, though I couldn't really remember who exactly they were.

Sidetracking a bit here, I have had the worst time remembering things while I have been here. That's beginning to bother me a bit, no lie.

Getting back on track here, the seven ponies I was with seemed to know who exactly this alicorn was, especially Twilight, who had immediately ran over to greet them.

"Cadance!" shouted Twilight, causing the new alicorn to spin around.

"Twilight!" They responded, meeting Twilight halfway to hug her.

I paid my attention over from the two alicorns hugging to Princess Celestia, who had been eagerly awaiting our return. I showed her the Element of Happiness as the rest of us approached her throne.

"We have successfully retrieved the Element of Happiness, Your Highness!" I proudly announced.

"Excellent work, Robert," praised Celestia.

"Did you have any hardships tracking it and retrieving it?" asked Luna.

"Just a little bump in the road, Princess Luna," I replied, "no biggie."

"'No biggie?'" Luna responded.

"Right," I said, "meaning not a big problem."

"Please," continued Celestia, "would you care to explain?"

"Absolutely, Your Highness," I happily obliged, proceeding to tell her what had happened in entirety.

I took note to make sure to not leave out any details while telling the story and if I did, which did happen a bit more often than I would've hoped for, the five other ponies, minus Twilight, who was having her own conversation with the other alicorn in the room, made sure to cover up for me. This was a story that was meant to have every detail shared, and that's just what we made sure happened.

Upon completing the story, Celestia quickly asked us to repeat one item that seemed to stick out the most to her.

"Tell me," she began, "did you say that a little maroon colored filly had followed you to the chamber for the Element of Happiness?"

"Yes, Princess," I confirmed, "why do you ask?"

"I believe I may know a little bit more about that filly, my little ponies," replied Celestia.

"What do you mean when you say you may know more about this filly that followed us into the forest, Princess?" A concerned Twilight asked, immediately dropping the conversation she was having with the new alicorn whom I couldn't recall their name.

"That filly has been known to show herself whenever something horrible is about to occur," Celestia sighed.

"Are you talking about Autumnal Array?" The new alicorn asked.

"Precisely, Princess Cadance." replied Celestia.

"However, her name doesn't match her style," Luna added.

"What do you mean?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Array means an ordered arrangement," I answered, "the autumnal part just means something of the fall season."

"Right," chimed Twilight, "and if she always shows herself when something horrible happens, her name would more likely imply the exact opposite. Meaning, instead of array, her name should be Disarray."

"What's disarray mean then?" Pinkie asked again.

"Disarray means disorganization or untidiness," Lunar answered the curious pink earth pony.

"Sounds like something Discord would enjoy!" implied Rainbow Dash.

She was into something, believe it or not. It was true that Discord was reformed, I remember that much. He was reformed by Fluttershy after she had showed him a high amount of kindness and friendship. However, nobody has seen or even heard from him since we got here. If there was some way we could link Autumnal Array with Discord, then perhaps we have the villain I'm supposed to stop. Then again, if it were Discord I had to stop, why would my Element of Happiness be necessary here? He was defeated by the other six using their Elements; mine wasn't needed to defeat him, Nightmare Moon, or anyone else for that fact.

Then again, the Elements were only used against Discord and Nightmare Moon. They were never used against King Sombra or Queen Chrysalis. They were defeated using other means, and by other means, I mean someone else.

If I can recall correctly, King Sombra was defeated by the love and harmony of the crystal ponies while Queen Chrysalis was defeated by the love between Twilight's older brother - umm...Shining Armor, I think his name was - and Princess Cadance, whom I had finally recognized was standing in front of me...chalk that one up for a failure to notice something so obvious...it isn't every day you get to meet the Princess of Love.

Either way, what if it was one of them who was making an appearance? Queen Chrysalis was one to tremble before since she herself defeated Princess Celestia, who was considered to be a powerful goddess since she alone could raise and lower the sun and moon with ease. Or even King Sombra...what if it was him? He did make a quick reappearance in the Crystal Empire, I remember that, but his poor decision making and horrible timing was what defeated him in actuality when you stop and really think about it. Plus, to top that all off, he does contain some dreadful magic, as did Queen Chrysalis. What if it's both of them who are coming?

That last thought really had me trembling with fear as I started shaking furiously. If both of them were to arrive once more, how would we confront them? And by "we," I mean the Elements of Harmony, myself included.

I had stopped paying attention to everyone around me until I noticed that all eyes were on me and I was the center of attention now. I started blushing a bit, making my emerald cheeks turn a slightly pale pink color, unaware of what was going on at the current moment. It wasn't until Twilight helped fill me in that I began to continue.

"Well, Robert?" Twilight told me. "Who do you think is connected with Autumnal Array?"

Honestly, if I were to take a wild guess, that's probably one of the later items I would have guessed. For some odd reason, I would've guessed, "So how are you enjoying this fair world" first.

"Umm..." I began after some awkward silence, "I think that either Queen Chrysalis or King Sombra is linked to Autumnal Array."

"Why's that?" asked Celestia.

"Well, uh..." I started, "it seems to make the most sense to me, Your Highness."

"Well I'll give you that," Luna told me, "that does sound like a logical hypothesis, Robert."

Was I just complimented by Luna herself on my preposterous guess? Whatever! I'll take that any day!

Ahem...getting back to professionalism now, the lights to the throne room we had been inside had suddenly gone off and the sun had started setting at the same time. I couldn't place my...hoof on why the lights went out, but I safely assumed that Celestia and Luna were lowering the sun and raising the moon like they do each and every day.

I assumed that until they assured us all that this was not their doings.

"We're not doing that, everypony," Celestia calmly assured, though hints of frightfulness could be traced in the sound of her voice and by how she told us that.

"Then...who is?" Applejack quickly responded.

Suddenly, without any warning, the large, double-wide doors leading from inside the throne room out into the hallway had bursted open. Standing there looking at us all was Autumnal Array (which, truth be told, was not a big shocker to me).

She had started entering the throne room after two large pony shaped figures had collapsed on the ground behind her. My bet was that those two were the guards that were guarding the throne room and that by some magical reason, Autumnal Array had overpowered them. How? I wasn't too sure.

Autumnal Array had approached me slowly and motioned for me to lower my head towards her mouth. I did so and she began to whisper something to me.

"Told you he'd be coming..." She softly spoke.

After that, I pulled my head away fairly quickly to notice Autumnal array fade into the air, almost like she herself was simply a mirage. I turned around to notice that everyone else was just as surprised as I was, though they couldn't tell what Autumnal Array had told me.

"What's going on?" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"Who's there!?" I demanded to know.

" _Yesss._ " A sinister voice said.

 _ _That voice...__ I thought, _ _it sounds a bit too familiar...__

"Show yourself!" Demanded Rainbow Dash.

" _Yesss_." The voice repeated.

"That voice..." Luna started.

"It sounds familiar..." added Celestia.

"A bit too familiar if you ask me." Princess Cadance included.

"Is that who I think it is?" Lunar asked nobody in particular.

 _ _I sure as hell hope that we aren't thinking of the same pony, Prince.__ _I told myself._

" _Yesss, yesss, yesss!_ "

Suddenly, a swirling cloud of dust had revealed itself to all of us and appeared to grow larger. It hovered from its original spot over towards Princess Celestia's throne, setting itself on top of it.

"No..." I said out loud, "it can't be..."

Twilight must've heard me since she assured me that it was indeed who I was thinking of.

"It is, Robert," she said, "King Sombra has returned!"

King Sombra reappeared fully atop Princess Celestia's throne, forcing her off and forcing her, as well as Princess Luna and Princess Cadance, to take defensive actions. Princess Celestia stood in the center of our group and stared down King Sombra in his dark, evil eyes.

"Why are you here, King Sombra?" Celestia demanded.

"My previous attempt at taking over the Crystal Empire has ended in failure." Sombra started. "So I figured, why not try for a bigger empire - namely, Canterlot! There is no Crystal Heart that can defeat me here! Now, bow down to your King!"

"There may not be a Crystal Heart here, King Sombra," Princess Cadance said in reply, "but I'm here!"

"And what are you gonna do, hmm?" Sombra challenged.

"Use the power of love and harmony to defeat you!" Cadance assured, using her magic to summon some of that love and harmony.

"You are weak compared to me, Princess," Sombra snickered, "allow me to show you what true power feels like!"

King Sombra charged his dark magic and attacked Cadance with it, sending her in a terrifying trance.

"Wha-what?" Cadance started, unaware of what happened.

"What did you do to her, Sombra?" Celestia demanded.

"Bring Princess Cadance back to us!" added Luna.

"It's too late for her!" Sombra replied.

"No!" shouted Cadance. "Please...don't leave me Shining Armor..."

"She's seeing her worst fears now!" Rarity stated.

"Shining Armor leaving her is her worst fear..." a lowly Twilight added.

"That would never happen!" Celestia shouted.

"But it is a vital possibility, Celestia!" Sombra responded.

"Cadance," Twilight shouted, "snap out if it! Cadance!"

Princess Cadance failed to respond to Twilight's calls.

"Cadance!"

No response.

" _Cadance!_ "

Still no response.

" _CADANCE!_ "

"Wh-what..." Cadance finally said, snapping out of the trance she was in, "what happened?"

"Cadance!" Celestia said, relieved, "You're okay!"

"But it's too late for all of you!" Sombra shouted, unleashing his dark magic on us all.

"What's going on!?" I asked, showing signs of fearfulness in my voice.

"I don't-" started Twilight before we had all disappeared from the throne room.

* * *

I had reappeared inside a barred room by myself. I was hurting really bad, believe it or not. I couldn't place my hoof on why I was hurting so badly since I wasn't directly attacked by Sombra himself. I started rubbing the back of my neck instinctively, like most people do when they try to cope with pain. As I was rubbing my neck, I began hearing some odd sounds coming from somewhere else in the room I was in.

"Who's there?" I bravely asked.

"Robert?" A voice replied. "Is that you?"

"How do you know my name?" I quickly asked, ignoring the previously asked question. "Show yourself."

A tall, white unicorn had stepped out from the shadows of the room and showed themselves to me. This unicorn had a beautifully crafted purple mane and tail and had three gemstones on their flank as a cutie mark.

"Rarity!" I concluded.

"Oh, Robert, darling," Rarity continued, "it is you."

"It is..." I repeated, noticing Rarity's increased height, wondering why she was so tall now.

"It is, but why are you so small?" Rarity immediately questioned.

"Why are you so big?" I asked at the same time.

"What happened, darling?" Rarity questioned once more.

"I don't know," I answered, "but what I really want to know is: which one of us is different? Did I shrink or did you grow?"

"I don't know, Robert," Rarity answered, "but let's try to find a way out of this horrid cage."

"Right!" I agreed.

We then began searching for a way outside of this cage. It appeared as if there was no way out, seeing how there was no doorway, but as I started using my magic to light up the room, I noticed that my magic was slowly fading. Eventually, all my magic abilities had vanished and I was unable to find the strength to perform basic magic now, such as levitation. I called for Rarity and told her my condition immediately as I confirmed I was unable to perform any kind of magic.

"Well that's terrible news, Robert," Rarity comforted me, "allow me to help."

I was confused as to what Rarity meant by that but felt an odd sensation fully encase itself around my body. I had noticed a light blue colored aura wrap itself around me and started bringing me up from the ground. It was a long flight upwards but it had stopped eventually and began dragging me towards the right.

 _ _What's going on?__ I thought.

Honestly, it took me an awful long time to figure out that Rarity was using her magic on me to help bring me up. Finally, Rarity had set me down on her back and her light blue aura released me. I nearly fell off but managed to get a grip on Rarity's back.

"Are you sure this is okay with you, Rarity?" I asked, unsure if Rarity wanted my dirt covered hooves on her back.

"Oh pish, posh, Robert," replied Rarity, "of course it's fine with me!"

Rarity's voice had echoed all around the room and had violently hurt my eardrums, most likely a side effect from one of our changed heights. Usually, a larger being has a more booming voice, which in this case, Rarity was the larger being here. What we didn't know was if I had shrunk in size and Rarity remained the same size, or if Rarity's height increased and I had stood the same. Either way, Rarity's voice was booming now and had hurt my ears as she shouted that out.

"Look!" Rarity exclaimed as I tended to my hurt ears.

"What's the matter, Rarity?" I asked.

"I believe I've found us a way out of this room!" She responded.

I had poked my head around Rarity's mane and spotted a large doorway in front of us both. The doorway appeared as if it would collapse at any moment, which was the case once Rarity shot a beam of magic at one of the hinges of the door. The door broke off its hinges and opened up to a dark hallway; a dark hallway with some eerie sounds coming from deep within said hallway.

"Shall we proceed, Robert?" Rarity asked me.

"Proceed with caution, Rarity." I answered in reply.

With that said, Rarity had proceeded slowly down the hallway with me notched upon her back. We had hoped to bump into someone else down this hallway and search for a way out of this mess but we weren't too sure if that would entirely happen according to plan.

* * *

"Are you okay back there, Robert?" Rarity asked me.

"I'm fine, Rarity," I replied, holding on tightly, "thanks for asking."

Riding on Rarity's back was soothing, believe it or not. However, I wish I knew who was the correct height - that was driving me nuts. When I don't know much about something, it really grinds my gears, if you know what I mean. I feel like it's in my best nature to know anything that happens around me as best as I can. I know I am unable to know about everything, but the subtle things, such as this one, for example, really do grind my gears. Suddenly, there came a noise from an unknown location. I thought it was just the air going by Rarity's mane, but when she stopped, I soon found out that that wasn't the case.

"Robert, darling, do you hear that?" asked Rarity.

I began listening a bit harder than I had been now. I began hearing faint hoofsteps coming from down the hallway. It couldn't have been Rarity's hoofsteps since she had just stopped moving.

"Whosoever is down there," politely started Rarity, "show yourself!"

"Relax, Rarity," a feminine voice said in reply, "it's only me, Twilight."

"And I," another voice called, "Lunar."

Twilight had lit up the surrounding area with her magic. It was revealed to me that both she and Lunar were their original heights, leading to my conclusion confirming that it was I who had shrunk in size and Rarity who had stayed the same height. Twilight approached Rarity and failed to notice me on her back.

"Are you by yourself, Rarity?" Twilight asked.

"No, not at all," answered Rarity, "I am with Robert right here."

Rarity motioned her head towards her back and showed her side to Twilight, who quickly noticed my change in size. Twilight's large eyes filled my line of view as she gazed into my soul, at least that's what it felt like.

"What happened?" Twilight asked, damaging my eardrums much like Rarity did earlier.

"I don't know, Twilight." I replied, rubbing my now-gentle ears softly.

"Somehow," Rarity added, shifting herself back to the way she was before showing me to Twilight, "little Robert here has shrunk in size as a result of King Sombra's magic."

"Little?" I immediately questioned.

"Oh," replied Rarity, turning her head around to talk to me, "it sounds more cute that way."

I began blushing a bit as Rarity turned her head back around to continue conversing with Twilight and Lunar.

"Perhaps Robert absorbed the majority of the magic King Sombra attacked us with." Lunar suggested.

"If that is indeed the case, can either of you help bring me back to my normal size?" I asked.

"I'm not too sure, Robert." answered Twilight, a bit more quietly than before. "Can you perform any kind of magic?"

"Not at all, Twilight," I meekly replied, "I seemed to have lost my ability to perform any and all magic."

"Do you think it's due to his smaller size, Twilight?" A concerned Rarity asked.

"That is a strong possibility, Rarity," answered Twilight, "perhaps Princess Celestia can help him out."

"We'd need to find her first." I insisted.

"Right, tiny," Twilight playfully replied.

"So let's find her, __Princess.__ " I playfully answered back.

Twilight gave me an annoyed look as I called her Princess. Hey, I may be tiny now, but that still doesn't mean I can have some fun messing with Twilight. Twilight glanced down at me heavily, proceeding to tell me something that made me really change my attitude fairly quickly.

"It'd be a shame if something were to happen to you, Robert," Twilight told me, motioning a hoof towards her stomach, "wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you, now would we?"

Quickly taking the hint, I answered back instantly. "Sorry if I offended you, Twilight."

"Apology accepted, Robert." Twilight told me.

Lunar approached Twilight and brought her away, smiling in the process. "Now, now," he said, kissing Twilight's cheek gently, "let's go find the Princess."

That really got me to change my approach towards Twilight. Once again, I may be small, but that doesn't mean that I have to have my life ended a second time in the course of a week. Twilight turned around and smiled at me, which I did in return, although it was a false smile. Eventually, Rarity, Lunar, and Twilight continued down the eerily dark and mysterious hall with me still riding Rarity's back.

"Where do you think we are?" Rarity asked Twilight.

"From the looks of it," Twilight started, "I'd say we're in the dungeons beneath Canterlot."

"I can confirm that we are in the dungeons," Lunar stated.

"How do you know?" Rarity asked curiously.

Lunar simply pointed to a nearby crystallized structure, telling Rarity that only that type of architectural genius could be found in Canterlot.

"It could also be found in the Crystal Empire, you know," Twilight pointed out.

Lunar shrugged. "That may be true," he answered, "but the Crystal Empire is far away from here and King Sombra doesn't seem to possess that kind of strong magic to teleport ten ponies far, far away on one try."

"Point taken," Twilight responded, "but this is King Sombra we're talking about."

"But Lunar is probably right," admitted Rarity, "teleporting ten ponies halfway across Equestria at one time isn't something even Celestia could probably do."

"And she is the most powerful pony, in terms of magic, in Equestria," Lunar added, receiving a cold glare from Twilight. He then rushed some words out in an effort to please Twilight again. "Present company excluded, of course."

"Thank you." smiled Twilight.

The trio of ponies kept slowly moving along the dark hallway while I was still positioned atop Rarity's back. Suddenly, a few more sounds rang down the walls of the hallway we were in, coming from all different directions. Rarity, Lunar, and Twilight had decided to stay put and let the sounds confront us. Twilight still lit the junction with her magic, trying to help out the sounds if they were coming closer to our position.

"Aren't they all still trapped in dungeons, Twilight?" I curiously asked after we had waited for a long while.

"Right..." Twilight responded.

"We should split up, Twilight," I suggested, "you and Lunar go down that hallway and free whoever is in any dungeon and Rarity and I will do the same down this hallway."

"Sounds like a plan, Robert." Twilight praised.

"Well, I may be small," I continued, "but I'm still a smart cookie."

"And a mighty tasty looking one, too." Twilight warned.

"Just saying." I immediately responded.

"Now, now, Twily," chuckled Lunar, "come along." He turned to Rarity next. "We'll meet back here when we're done, okay?"

"Sounds good, darling," Rarity remarked.

I managed to get a glimpse at Twilight before Rarity and myself headed down our designated hallway to check on any other ponies that were trapped here. She slyly smirked at me before heading down her designated hallway along with the Prince. Rarity and I proceeded down our hallway, trying our best to find whatever it was that was making the eerie sounds. Once we had met a nearby dungeon door face-to-face, Rarity asked if anybody was inside.

"Is that you, Rarity?" A voice asked.

"Yes," answered Rarity, "are you alone in there?"

"No," the voice responded, "I'm here with Rainbow Dash."

This voice sounded like Fluttershy's voice but I wasn't too sure. Mainly, why would Fluttershy answer and not go crazy in this severely dark area and not Rainbow Dash. Either way, Rarity blasted the door with her magic and knocked it off its hinges, causing it to fall to the ground, generating a rather loud, metallic slamming sound upon hitting the ground. Once the doorway was cleared and it was safe to do anything, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had exited their dungeon and tagged along with us. Calling out to nobody in particular, Rarity made sure if all the other rooms were cleared before heading back to the junction. Confirming that all was cleared, Rarity, myself, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash started proceeding back towards the junction to meet up with Twilight and Lunar, hoping that they had found everyone else. We had waited for Twilight and Lunar for a few moments and, when they finally arrived back, she was accompanied by Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance.

"Where is Princess Celestia?" I asked. I had drawn a few eyes from those who hadn't noticed me before.

"What happened to you, Robert?" Princess Cadance asked me.

"Well," I began, "I believe King Sombra's magic is behind this doing."

"Right," added Twilight, "Robert must have absorbed the majority of the magic King Sombra attacked us with and that might have something to do with his smaller stature."

"And let me tell you," I continued, "I don't want to stay like this any longer. So does anypony know any spell that can change me back to normal?"

"Princess Celestia is the only pony who knows such spells and is the only one who can help you." Princess Luna told me.

"So where is Princess Celestia?" I asked the group of giant ponies.

"Is she not with you?" asked Princess Luna.

"We thought she was with you, to be honest." Twilight replied.

The commotion as to the whereabouts of Princess Celestia started getting out of hoof. I had decided to stay out of it until I began hearing something abnormal coming from deep within the dark hallways of the dungeons. I tugged at Rarity's mane gently, asking her to place me on the ground for a quick moment.

"What for, Robert?" Rarity quickly questioned, concerned about how safe I'll be in a room full of giant ponies. "I'm afraid of somepony stepping on you and crushing your cute little self."

"I need to know if I can feel any sort of movement." I replied. "Perhaps it'll help find our way out or even find Princess Celestia."

Rarity thought about that for a while. She appeared to be really concerned about my safety. Eventually, she answered me back.

"Fine, darling," Rarity told me, encasing me in her magic aura, "just be careful, Robert."

"I'll do just that, Rarity." I replied as Rarity set me down on the ground.

Fortunately for me, nobody above me was moving their hooves, so this made my concentration seem like clockwork. I crouched down onto the ground and began feeling vibrations of hooves striking the ground coming from down the hallway. I placed an ear on the ground so that I could track down the exact location of the vibrations. This was one of the easier things that I could do, but it would've been even easier had everyone not been bickering with each other. I tried tracing the little, subtle vibrations all the way back to its origin point, managing to do so within a few moments.

After successfully locating the vibrations, I stood back up strongly, only to be overshadowed by everyone. I looked up and started shouting out to them, only to be silenced by a gigantic indigo colored hoof crashing down into the ground from which I was originally standing. I had managed to jump out of the way at the last second and immediately looked up to scold the owner of the hoof that almost killed me, though couldn't find the strength to do so since the owner of that hoof was Princess Luna. One does not scold a Princess; it's simply inhumane.

I located Rarity and managed to get her attention, seeing how she was the only pony who was actually looking down on the ground, making sure I was fine up from above. She saw me waving at her and gently picked me up using her magic. Placing me on her back, I thanked her for saving me and kindly asked if she could get everybody's attention, doing just that and slowly getting the group to silence itself.

"Thank you again, Rarity." I smiled, finally able to think clearly for once.

"No problem, darling!" Rarity replied, hurting my eardrums by accident.

"What's the matter, Robert?" Princess Cadance asked me.

"My honing abilities have discovered some movement up ahead down that hallway." I told everyone as I pointed to the hallway the vibrations came from.

"Do you think Princess Celestia could be down that hall?" Twilight asked.

"Beats me," I answered, "but that is a very good possibility."

"Let's check it out then." Pinkie Pie said happily.

"Lead the way, Robert." Princess Cadance said.

"I'd love to, Princess," I responded, "but I think this will go a lot quicker if I traveled with one of you."

"Allow me," Princess Luna inserted, wrapping her magic aura around my body and bringing me up to her back.

"Thank you, Princess Luna." I told her.

"Careful, Luna," I heard Lunar say. Something tells me that he doesn't fully trust me yet.

"You're quite welcome, Robert, and I will, Lunar," Luna responded, turning to face me, "now hang on tight and tell me exactly where to go."

With that said, Luna quickly rushed down the hallway I pointed towards earlier. Upon reaching the end of that hallway, I told Luna to take a right turn and head down this new hallway. She followed my orders, which, on a side note, was a pretty cool thing in my mind. As we rushed down the new hallway, my ears began twitching violently, picking up the sudden sound coming from near the position I triangulated earlier.

"Whatever is nearby," I started, "they're making a whole lot of noise."

"What do you mean?" A tired Twilight asked.

"They're close by." I replied.

As we neared the end of the new hallway, my ears twitched towards the left side a bit, which was odd since the only thing on the left side of us was a doorway. On our right was a completely segregated hallway that kept on going into the never ending darkness. My ears violently twitched towards the door and I concluded that whatever was making the sound was just beyond this doorway.

"They're just beyond this door." I told Luna.

"Well then," Luna responded, "we meet our troublemaker then."

Luna grabbed a hold of the large, metal doorway with her magic and swung it open. He room inside was completely dark. I hopped off Luna's back and began triangulating the exact position of the being here in this room. It seemed to be a very large room, but I was able to navigate through the room and, once I managed to triangulate the origin of the vibrations, I'd started confronting them, regardless of size difference.

"Over here, everypony!" I shouted.

"Oh, dear me..." Cadance quietly spoke.

"Sister," Luna started, rushing over to greet her sister, barely missing me in the process, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine, my sister," Celestia responded, "simply fine."

"That's great news, my dear sister." Luna responded.

"Where are we?" Celestia quickly asked.

"From the looks of it," Twilight started, "we're in the dungeons underneath Canterlot."

"Is everypony unharmed?" Celestia questioned, concerned about the health of everyone else.

"We're all fine, for the most part." Cadance answered.

"What's wrong?" Celestia responded.

"Umm...I'm wrong, Your Highness." I answered, glancing up at the gigantic alicorn herself. She was already taller than everybody in the room, but now she looked as if she could easily dispose of me without even trying.

"What happened, Robert?" Celestia asked, bending down in order to get closer to me. I appreciated that; it kept me from yelling.

"I shrunk in size considerably, Your Highness," I replied, "most likely the reason being King Sombra and his dark magic."

"I believe that Robert absorbed the majority of King Sombra's dark magic, resulting in his smaller stature." Twilight added.

"With all due respect, Princess Celestia," I continued, "can you please help me out?"

"I may be able to help you out, Robert," Celestia responded, "but since King Sombra's magic did this to you, my magic might not have any effect on you for quite a while."

"I'll take any chance I can get, Your Highness," I told her, "just please help me out..."

"Fine," Celestia agreed, "hold still."

I did my best to stay perfectly still, feeling Princess Celestia's magic begin to wrap itself around me and attempt to do something to my body. I had forced my eyes shut, only to open them back upon hearing an extremely loud sound reminiscent of a cork bottle popping after I felt something go a tad bit wrong. Looking up, I saw that Princess Celestia had literally been thrown across the room, slamming against a hard, unforgiving metal wall. The ponies in the room rushed over to check on Princess Celestia, which made sense because she was in a higher position above me on the social totem poll. Once Princess Celestia could stand under her own power again, the ponies then came closer to me to see how I was doing.

"Are you okay, Robert?" Princess Luna asked me.

"Are you hurt?" Princess Celestia added.

"I'm fine..." I meekly replied.

I looked around a bit and noticed that everyone was still taller than I was. I was a bit disappointed that the Princess' magic failed to fix me and change me back to normal.

"I see that the magic failed..." I confidently said.

"I'm sorry, Robert." Celestia told me.

"Don't be, Your Highness," I happily replied, "after all, you did say that there was a possibility that this would not work. I didn't really get my hopes up that high after you said that."

It did hurt me a bit to know that I'll still have to keep my guard up sky high when it comes to being near these ponies that can easily crush me. However, Rarity did levitate me up onto her back for my safety.

"I'd feel better if you were kept in safe hooves, Robert." Rarity exclaimed.

"Thank you, Rarity." I thanked.

Rarity smiled as she brought her head closer towards the top of mine. I wasn't too sure what she was doing, though I soon found out after Rarity had puckered up her lips and gave me a kiss.

 _That_ caught me _way_ off my guard. I'm sure if Spike were here, he'd be really jealous of me at this moment. Based off of his actions earlier, I could tell that he really liked Rarity – liked like. Either way, I enjoyed that kiss, even if it came from a fictional character in a fictional world.

"How do we find a way out?" Applejack asked.

"Just leave that to us." Twilight answered, pointing towards Princess Cadance in the process.

"Just like old times, wouldn't you say, Twilight?" smiled Princess Cadance.

"Just like old times." agreed Twilight.

If anyone knew the way out of these dungeons, it was the two of them. After all, both of them had been trapped here back in Season 2's two-part finale while Queen Chrysalis wreaked havoc within Canterlot playing the role of Princess Cadance.

Twilight and Cadance led the lot of us through the dark and mysterious dungeons, finally reaching the outside world in almost no time at all. Once we had arrived outside, however, we were treated to a fairly unwelcoming sight.

All around Canterlot, dark gemstones, reminiscent of those back in the Crystal Empire when Sombra tried taking over again, had lined up everywhere and popped out of the ground.

"King Sombra is attacking Canterlot!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

 _ _Thanks, Captain Obvious...__ I harshly resided.

"We must get back towards the Canterlot Castle in order to defeat him." Celestia told us.

Upon hearing that, we had all rushed over towards the castle as quickly as our hooves could carry us. Rarity made sure to be extra gentle with me, making sure I didn't slip off or get left behind. Sure we may have been the last ones to reach the Canterlot Castle, but it was vital that I was here. I may be tiny now, but that doesn't mean I still can't use my Element of Harmony. For all we know, my Element of Happiness could be the key to defeating King Sombra while using the other Elements of Harmony.

"We best attack now!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Hold on there, Rainbow!" I responded, getting Rainbow Dash to stop dead in her tracks.

"What!?" She shot back.

"That's what King Sombra wants us to do." I told her. "Trust me, villains all work the same way."

"Explain yourself, Robert!" Demanded Luna, her voice pounding my eardrums, causing me to tend to them a bit before replying to her.

"Well," I slowly started, "if I can recall upon every hero-versus-villain scenario I've seen in my life, every time the hero attacks shortly after being attacked and/or overthrown by the villain, the hero usually ends up losing once more. Back home, there was a superhero that went by the name of Batman who had a formidable opponent and arch-rival who went by the name of The Joker. The Joker had threatened and beaten Batman at his own game, causing Batman to take on The Joker face-to-face. Batman lost that fight so he had to change his approach a bit and, although that took a long time, he was able to defeat The Joker the only time he needed to beat him."

"What are you saying, Robert?" Lunar asked me, somewhat being skeptical of what I just said.

"Yeah," added Rainbow Dash, "what are you getting at exactly?"

"What I am 'getting at,' Rainbow Dash," I continued, "is that we need to plan this onslaught out carefully if we wish to overthrow Sombra from Canterlot. Do you get what I am saying now?"

"I guess so..." Rainbow Dash softly replied.

"But how do we go about beating King Sombra, Robert?" Twilight asked. "Last time, the Crystal Heart defeated him and, judging by the dark crystals around s, we don't have enough time to get it from the Crystal Empire."

"Nor would that even leave the Empire, Twilight." added Lunar.

"Leave that to me." I assured Twilight.

I immediately began plotting a way to overthrow that horrid King Sombra. It only took me a couple of minutes to fully derive a plan and, once I did, I shared it with the others.

"Okay," I began, "do I have everypony's attention?"

"You may certainly proceed, Robert." Celestia told me.

"Good," I continued, "now, in order to beat King Sombra, this is what we're going to have to do. Since there is only one way of entering and exiting the throne room without flying, I'll need both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to fly up to two opposite windows and hold down King Sombra with your magic. After that, the rest of us will charge into the throne room and, while King Sombra is still dazed and confused, we'll use our Elements to defeat King Sombra. If, however, King Sombra reverts his attention back towards us, which is a high possibility, Princess Cadance and Prince Lunar here will use their magic to fully stop King Sombra in his tracks. If this all plays out as well as it's supposed to, we'll successfully be able to overthrow King Sombra and reinstate Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as the true rulers of Canterlot. Sound good to everypony?"

"It sounds good, Robert." Twilight praised me, closely followed by appraisal coming from everyone.

"Then let's overthrow ourselves a King." I confidently spoke.

With that being said, Celestia and Luna quickly and instinctively flew up to two opposite windows of the throne room, making sure to go undetected, while the rest of us charged our way towards the throne room. It didn't take long to get near the throne room, but it was tiring. There are a lot of stairs that lead to the room, you know.

Once we were outside the throne room, I gave a quick nod to Celestia and Luna outside the windows as the rest of us blasted through the large, double-wide doors.

"Alright, King Sombra," I shouted, watching Princess Celestia and Princess Luna fly into the throne room, "your reign of terror has..."

I was stopped short by some surprises that I was definitely not expecting.

"No..." I quietly said. "It. Can't be..."

"Surprise!" A familiar foe shouted.

"But...but why?" I asked.

"Why are you here?" demanded Celestia.

"Hahaha," King Sombra laughed, "this is truly a sight to see, isn't it Discord?"

"Oh, it truly is an amazing sight, Sombra." Discord replied.

"Why are you doing this, Discord?" A quiet Fluttershy asked.

"What about the magic of friendship?" I added, reminding Discord of his reformed days.

Discord flew over towards me and glanced heavily at me. He seemed to be a bit intrigued about my small size and appeared to toy with me a bit, though I couldn't really confirm that entirely.

"And who exactly are you?" Discord asked me.

"That's none of your business, you abominable freak!" I shouted in reply.

"Oh, I'm the freak, am I?" Discord answered, hovering his cloven hoof over my body in the air, sending it crashing down into the ground that once supported my weight as I jumped out of the way.

"Yes you are!" I told him.

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" snapped Discord.

"Enough!" Celestia yelled out, trying to calm the tensions between Discord and myself.

"Come here, Robert," Rarity called, though it was more of an order, seeing how I was being forcefully brought over towards her and placed on her back.

"Thank you, Rarity," I said, "it would have turned a bit ugly had we been left alone..."

"And that's why we're here, darling," responded Rarity.

Rarity kissed me on my head once more as we paid our attention towards the two horrible villains that were presently in our presence. Celestia and Luna had approached both King Sombra and Discord respectively and began conversing with them. It sounded like negotiations at first, but after I put two and two together, I noticed that both Princesses were threatening the two villains to leave peacefully if they didn't want anything to happen to them.

"Hahaha!" laughed Discord and King Sombra.

"You really don't understand how villains work, do you, Celestia?" Discord asked through his horrid laughing.

"Why on earth would we simply give up like that!?" Sombra added.

"Unless you both want to deal with the Elements of Harmony..." Celestia started.

"...you'd better kindly surrender now!" finished Luna.

Discord snapped his fingers as Celestia and Luna threatened the two dastardly villains. Nobody seemed to notice this besides me, however, when I tried bringing it to everyone's attention, I noticed we had bigger problems to cope with at the moment. Discord's magic somehow transported the Elements away from all seven of us!

 _ _How can this be?__ I thought. __I thought the Elements had a protection spell protecting them from something like this! How can they be gone!?__

I tugged at Rarity's mane gently in order to grab her attention. Once she turned her head so that she was now facing me, I began to alert her that the Elements were transported away by Discord.

"That's preposterous, Robert," Rarity denied, "see?"

She pointed to her chest, only to find out that her Element was no longer attached to her neck. We glanced over towards everyone else and noticed that nobody had their Elements either.

"Twilight!" I called, fortunately getting her attention.

"What's the matter, Robert?" Twilight asked.

"Twilight, dear," started Rarity, "our Elements, they're gone!"

Twilight began touching the top of her head with her hoof, trying to feel her crown that was no longer present. Once she concluded that her crown was no longer perched on top of her head, she glanced over at everyone else and noticed that everyone's Elements was gone. Angry, Twilight glared at Discord and demanded that he bring back the Elements immediately.

"Come now, Twilight," Discord replied, "if you want your precious Elements so badly, all you need to do is solve this riddle!"

"What riddle?" Twilight impatiently asked.

"Again?" Lunar added quietly.

"You'll find your precious Elements once you solve this one rhyme," Discord laughed, "where does boiling and freezing at the same time!?"

"You'd better tell us where the Elements are, buddy!" Rainbow Dash snapped. "I mean it!"

"Oh come now, Rainbow Dash," Discord replied, "that's no fun."

"You'll never find your precious Elements of Harmony now!" King Sombra shouted as he used his dark magic to throw us all out of the throne room.

We had all hit the ground hard after King Sombra threw us out of the throne room. I had managed to stay atop Rarity's back the entire time, though when she landed on her back as we were tossed. I saw my life flash before my eyes when Rarity came crashing down on top of me. I could've sworn that Rarity would've crushed me to death there, but I guess I was spared there. Still, it was a pretty alarming site.

Everyone stood back atop their hooves as we began to think about Discord's riddle as to the whereabouts of the Elements of Harmony. Something about this riddle seemed oddly familiar to me, like I've heard it somewhere before, but I couldn't remember where or when I heard it before.

 _ _Where does boiling and freezing at the same time.__ Rang Discord's words in my head.

"What could that mean?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Boiling and freezing," I said quiet enough so that nobody could hear me, "boiling and freezing..."

"Perhaps it's," Lunar said, slowly drifting off, "no, that can't be right...""

 _ _I've heard that terminology before,__ I thought, __but where...__

"Ah don't know, y'all," admitted Applejack.

"Yeah," inserted Rainbow Dash, "c'mon Twilight. You gotta know this. You're like super smart."

"I honestly am just as stumped as you are, Rainbow," Twilight said.

"That is a very peculiar riddle, everypony." Luna sympathized.

 _ _Boiling and freezing...__ I repeated in my head, __boiling and freezing...__

"Could it mean that there's an ice cream truck on fire somewhere?" Pinkie asked, bouncing all over the place.

"I don think so, Pinkie," Twilight answered.

 _ _Boiling and freezing...__

That's when it came to me. I've heard this same riddle before on an old cartoon. The answer to this riddle was so obvious! How could I not remember this earlier?

"I know it!" I shouted out, making myself the center of attention.

"What does it mean then, Robert?" Twilight asked me.

"Boiling and freezing is code for a specific location!" I replied.

"What do you mean?" Asked Princess Cadance.

"The freezing point of water is zero degrees Celsius while the boiling point it two hundred and twelve degrees Celsius." I explained. "So all we have to do us search the areas that have a coordinate plane of 212° East or West across the longitudinal plane and 0° on the latitudinal plane on any coordinates-orientated map! We locate these areas, we locate our Elements of Harmony!"

"Robert," Twilight replied, "you're a genius!"

"We need to hurry!" I warned. "We're running out of time to overthrow those villains! Come on, everyone! The quicker we grab the Elements, the quicker we can defeat those two villains in there!"

"Just one question, Robert." Rainbow Dash spoke.

"Sure," I replied, "what's up?"

"Well," continued Rainbow Dash, "it's more of a question Twilight has."

"Alrighty then," I said, turning towards Twilight, "what's your question, Princess?"

"Hey," Twilight explained, "watch yourself!"

"My apologies, Twilight. It slipped out." I told her. "Now what was it that you wanted to ask?"

"Well," started Twilight, glancing heavily down at me, "you do understand that there is no such thing as a 212° East or West, right?"

"But there is such a thing as a 212° coordinate plane, Princess." I replied.

Twilight glared at me harshly. "You're pushing it, Robert," she said, pointing one of her hooves towards her stomach, "wouldn't want anything to happen to you, you know."

"Am I detecting some negative aura reminiscing from you, Twilight?" I playfully asked.

I sometimes wish I could shut my big mouth from time to time. Why, you ask? Well, for one, it gets myself in trouble, especially now. Allow me to explain: Twilight took that comment the wrong way and wrapped her magic aura around my body, bringing me up and dangling me above her head. I tried reasoning with her and apologizing as much as I could.

"I'm sorry, Twilight," I pleaded, "I'm so, so, so sorry! I'll make sure it won't happen again! Please don't hurt me..."

Twilight stared heavily at me, shutting her mouth slowly. "Fine," she finally said after some tense silence, "I'll hold you to that promise."

She then gently placed me back on the ground and bent down so the she could whisper something else to me.

"However," she remarked, "if I feel that you're breaking your promise," she pointed towards her stomach once more, "next time, I won't be so nice about it."

"You have my word, Prin...uhh, I mean, Twilight." I replied.

"Good boy." answered Twilight.

 _ _How does Spike deal with you?__ I thought to myself.

It's as if Twilight read my thoughts as she turned around and gave me a very intriguing smile. As I watched her smile at me, I was being wrapped once more with some magic aura, this one belonging to Rarity seeing how it was a light blue colored aura covering me. I glanced over at Rarity as she placed me on her back once more. She turned her head to face me and smiled back at me.

"I don't know if I should be scared of Twilight or not." I whispered to her.

"Now, darling," Rarity quietly replied, "Twilight's just having some fun, seeing how cute you are, all small and tiny."

"I don't know, Rarity." I meekly answered. "After all, she was nearly close to eating me just there."

"I'm certain she wouldn't have eaten you." Rarity assured.

As Twilight walked out of the room with Lunar closely following behind her, leaving just Rarity and myself, I began questioning that logic.

"How certain are you of that, Rarity?" I asked.

"Fairly certain, darling," answered Rarity.

"I wish I could believe you, dear..." I said, unaware of how exactly I finished that statement.

"Pardon," Rarity quickly asked, "did you just call me 'dear,' darling?"

"I guess I did," I replied, "sorry if I overextended my word play."

"It's quite alright, Robert," Rarity said, "I actually like it. The way you said it with such sophistication and so professional like, it really was interesting and appreciative."

"Well," I chuckled, "there's more where that came from, dear."

I walked up to Rarity's face and gave her a kiss on her cheek. Heck, it might have been all that I could see, but I clearly saw her blush a nice, magnificent magenta color.

"Oh, Robert," Rarity quietly said so that she wouldn't hurt my ears, "how unexpected."

"Too much, Rarity?" I asked without hesitation.

"Perhaps," she replied, "but I do very much enjoy it, darling."

"Well, like I said," I continued, "there's more where that came from."

With that said, I once again gave Rarity a kiss on her cheek, which she seemed to enjoy, topped off with her giggling a bit.

"Oh, Robert, darling," Rarity said, "you do know how to treat and respect a lady with glamor and perfection."

She then turned her head towards where I was and lightly kissed me on top of my head. I felt my cheeks blushing into a pale pink color as Rarity smooched the top of my head. Thankfully, she didn't manage to see my blush.

 _ _Spike,__ I thought to myself, _ _you surely would be jealous of me.__

Suddenly, the door to the throne room opened wide up and out came Discord and King Sombra. Rarity had turned her attention over from me towards the two villains as she began shuffling backwards. The sudden appearance of them both startled us both, almost causing me to fall off of Rarity as she jerked back around to face the door. The two dastardly villains noticed us and slowly began approaching us.

"Well, well, well," began Discord, "look who we have here, Sombra!"

"A couple of stragglers left in our midst." Sombra replied.

"So it seems," smiled Discord, staring directly at us both.

I grew nervous, but managed to overcome my nerves for the short term. Standing up on Rarity's back, I approached her ear, whispering into it.

"Run, dear..." I whispered into Rarity's ear, hoping that she wasn't nervous enough to make a break for it and run after Twilight and the others.

She heeded to my advice, immediately turning straight around and attempted running away. Unfortunately, and I don't know how this slipped my vision, King Sombra was standing right behind us and began shunting us back into the throne room. With the heavy doors slamming shut behind us, Discord dragged us over towards the throne he had claimed as his own and began grounding us while Sombra held us down with his magic.

"Now," Discord said as he chained down Rarity, "we'll never be defeated!"

"The Elements of Harmony won't work without all of you!" Sombra added. "Not that you would've found them anyway."

Discord then spotted me as I tried hiding myself inside Rarity's mane. Rarity noticed this and tried to motion her mane so that I could attempt to escape from Discord, however, he grabbed me with his horrible, dreadfully piercing claw.

"Now, what do we have here?" Discord said, dangling me in front of his face.

"Put. Me. Down!" I demanded.

"Now why would I do that?" Discord added.

"Put that pest in this." Sombra requested, magically spawning a little jar to put me in.

"Excellent idea, Sombra!" praised Discord, dropping me into the jar and slamming the lid shut.

"Robert, darling!" Rarity cried.

I got back up, only to stumble down as the jar I was in had been slammed down on a table located next to Rarity.

"Robert, darling," Rarity asked, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine, dear," I replied, "how about you?"

"Simply fine, darling," answered Rarity, "though I wish these shackles were taken off of me."

"Can't you use your magic?" I asked.

Rarity motioned her head so that her mane would move out of the way so that I could see her horn, which was being covered by this unusual dark pebble.

"Whatever this is," Rarity told me, "it's forbidding me to use my magic..."

"And that's a great way to keep you two here!" shouted Sombra.

"And when the Elements of Harmony return with Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and that pesky Lunar," added Discord, "we'll finally get rid of them all!"

 _ _No...__ I thought.

I looked over towards Rarity, who had a look of disbelief attached to her face. Looking back at Discord and King Sombra, I vowed to myself that they would pay for what they have done.

I had paced around inside this small jar for what seemed like hours. Outside, the sun had set a long time ago, so now it was as dark as it was when we were inside the Everfree Forest searching for the Element of Happiness.

 _ _Haven't these guys ever heard of a candle?__ I thought to myself.

I glanced over towards Rarity, who had collapsed on the ground due to exhaustion. She had fallen asleep for the night – this eerily lengthy night – as did Discord and King Sombra, leaving me as the only pony who had still been wide awake. Come to think of it, I haven't seen or even heard from King Sombra or even Discord in a long time.

Ugh, Discord...how could he betray the ponies of Equestria.. _twice_ no less!?

I was pacing around to search for a way out of this jar I was in. I looked up and noticed a tightly screwed in cork, making an escape from the top futile. However, when I looked down towards the bottom of the jar, I noticed that the jar wasn't fully placed on the table I was on.

I began deriving a plan almost instantaneously afterwards. __Hmm...if I could somehow tip over this jar, maybe the impact will be strong enough to shatter this jar and free me.__

I took a long look around the room and noticed that Rarity and myself were the only ponies inside this room, making now the perfect time to escape from the clutches of the two evil villains. I backed up all the way to one side of the jar then, taking a deep breath, charged towards the opposite side with all my might, crashing into it and making the jar tilt a bit, but not tip over. I had backed up all the way once more, and proceeded to pull the same action as before.

As I crashed into the side of the jar, I began to feel it tip over. I tried attaining some sort of grip on the side of the jar, but couldn't do so, sending me spiraling out of control as the jar was sent crashing down to the ground. My head was near the ground when the jar started to shatter but, fortunately for me, the shattered glass scattered elsewhere around the room and away from my head.

I shook off the motion sickness fairly easily and located Rarity, whose elegant body was lying on top of the chains that were keeping her grounded and motionless. The chains looked a bit rusted compared to when they originally were attached to Rarity, so I decided to focus on them right now.

I tried removing the chains from under Rarity myself, but seeing how small I was and how heavy Rarity was compared to my current state, that did not go well. Seeing how that failed, I positioned myself face-to-face with the slumbering Rarity and rubbed myself against her cheek as gently as possible so that she wouldn't be too startled, should she have woken up.

My horn had begun scratching Rarity's elegant, white colored fur as I began my attempts to wake the lovely Element of Generosity up from her lovely looking slumber. Even with chains attached to her body, Rarity still made that look so incredible.

Getting back on track here, after a while, Rarity had begun waking up. Startled and annoyed, she quickly glanced over towards the other side of the room, noticing that it was completely empty.

"Robert, darling," Rarity quietly started, "how on earth did you escape your jar?"

"I'll explain later," I replied, "but now we need to escape here."

"How do you suppose we'll escape?" questioned Rarity.

"Well, for one," I said, "I'll need you to stand up fully while I attempt to uncouple these raggedy, old chains."

"Fine," agreed Rarity, "just please be careful, dear. I don't want to hurt you, you know."

"I'll be extremely careful, dear," I answered in reply as I started uncoupling Rarity's gigantic chains.

It wasn't hard really, seeing how my hooves were smaller than the keyhole to each ankle bracelet. All I did was stick my hoof inside each keyhole and shuffle it about for a few moments. Since I picked tons of locks back home – something that I'm not entirely proud of, by the way – I knew exactly what I was looking for and immediately managed to pick each lock, successfully unlocking each ankle bracelet and freeing Rarity from her chained imprisonment. The last thing I needed to work on was getting off the pebbles that had attached themselves to Rarity's horn.

"Could you crouch down, Rarity, so that I can remove the pebbles from your horn?" I politely asked.

"Sure thing, dear," answered Rarity, "watch out."

Rarity crouched her entire body down onto the ground slowly, making sure she wouldn't crush me in the process. She touched base with the ground so smoothly, I didn't even hear the roar I usually hear when anything moves and touches the ground. She lowered her head so that I may examine the black pebbles a bit further.

"Okay," I started, "I'm going to try something right now. If it begins to hurt you, please tell me to stop."

"Sure thing, darling," replied Rarity, allowing me to climb onto her horn.

What I had planned in mind was to use my horn to scrape off the black pebbles from Rarity's horn. If it worked, then perhaps Rarity's magic abilities wouldn't be disturbed anymore.

I had started grinding my horn onto Rarity's horn, plucking off some of the weaker pebbles. I had scraped off the weaker pebbles first, then focused on those pebbles that were a bit harder to clear away.

"Does it hurt, dear?" I asked.

"Not at all, sweetie," answered Rarity.

 _ _I like the sound of that,__ I thought after hearing that answer, __sweetie.__

A few moments more had passed by before I scraped off the last of the black pebbles from Rarity's horn. After jumping off, I turned and faced Rarity, telling her that she should be able to perform magic now without any kind of disturbance.

"Let's see, sweetie," said Rarity, focusing her magic on me.

I began to feel a sort of warm sensation as I began to get wrapped up in some light blue aura. I jumped to the conclusion that Rarity was able to use her magic once more, but didn't say anything until I had been released by the magic. The magic aura brought me from where I was on the ground, looking up at the beautiful, giant unicorn, up to Rarity's back, where she had gently placed me on top of. There, Rarity turned her head around and gave me a little kiss on top of my head.

"Thank you so much, sweetie, for helping me out so much!" She told me.

"No need to thank me," I replied, blushing again from Rarity's adorable kiss, "let's just focus on escaping from here first before anything else happens."

With that said, Rarity had began rushing out of the deserted throne room with me notched upon her back. We had escaped the throne room with ease, though it was escaping the castle that would prove to be a challenge seeing how this place was oozing guards all over the place.

"We need to make sure we escape undetected, dear," I whispered.

"Exactly what I was thinking, Robert." Rarity replied as we began traveling down a flight of stairs.

Rarity quietly climbed down the long flight of stairs until we had finally reached level ground again. Once that happened, I quietly called out to Rarity in order to get her attention.

"What's the matter, Robert, darling?" Rarity whispered, coming to a halt where we were.

"Wait here," I told Rarity, jumping off her back for a quick second, "let me make sure the coast is clear."

"Sure thing," answered Rarity, "just please be careful, sweetie."

I gave a flirtatious nod back at Rarity, then turned the corner and positioned myself so that I could detect anything coming from anywhere else in these hallways. My body hugged the ground while my ear touched base with it and, after a few tense minutes, I was able to confirm that we were alone for the time being.

I came back to Rarity and told her that we could proceed down the next few halls, seeing how there was not a single trace of anybody down any nearby halls. Rarity nodded, then slowly and quietly began following me. I had to sprint while Rarity maintained pace with me utilizing an extremely slow pace. For every dozen steps I took, Rarity probably only took one or two, that just goes to show you how different in size we are.

I came to a sudden halt as I started hearing something from a hallway further down from where we were. I felt Rarity's hoof touch my rear side, which honestly scared me more than getting caught. In fact, that probably frightened her more than it did me, seeing how she jumped back and immediately started asking me if I was hurt or unharmed. She felt so bad that she almost crushed me, but we had bigger problems at the moment. I let the near miss slide for now – though I would've let it slide, period – while I hugged the ground once more and placed an ear on the ground.

"Someone's down that hallway." I told Rarity, pointing towards a nearby entrance to the castle.

"But that's our way out..." replied Rarity.

"Wait..." I said, "they're coming closer..."

"We need to hide." Rarity exclaimed.

Instinctively, I stood up and hugged Rarity's hoof. I wasn't scared or anything. Honestly, I was more scared of being around gigantic ponies that could easily crush and kill me. However, when I hugged Rarity's hoof I felt an odd sensation; a magical sensation, if you will. I don't understand why I felt it hugging Rarity's hoof and not while I was on her back, but the sensation was making my horn glow my emerald colored aura once more. I tightly gripped Rarity's hoof, and after that, I felt nothing.

I had my eyes shut the entire time I hugged her hoof, so when I opened my eyes to see where she was, to my surprise, she was no longer there, though her voice was as close to me as it was prior to these unpredictable events.

"Robert, darling," she asked me from an undetermined location, "where are you sweetie?"

"Rarity?" I spoke at the same time. "Where are you?"

"Why, I'm still in the same spot as before, dear," answered Rarity.

"As am I, sweetie," I responded.

"So what happened, then?" asked Rarity.

"I don't-"

I was cut off as I heard a door to the castle open up. I heard the door creak and creep open, followed by eight feminine voices and one masculine voice. I assumed that they were Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Celestia, and everyone else, but I wasn't too sure since I still had no visual of them all.

As I gazed over towards the doorway, I saw two constantly moving shadows. The two shadows were taller than everyone else in the group and the part that was moving appeared as if it belonged to someone's head.

"I think it's Twilight and the others, Rarity." I said.

"Let's make sure that it is them first, Robert." replied Rarity.

"Right." I answered, paying more attention over towards the open doorway.

The shadows that were originally standing inside the doorway had finally begun moving and started proceeding further into the castle. As I got a closer look at the group, I confirmed that they were simply only Twilight accompanied by everyone else.

I had lifted my tight grip from Rarity and proceeded towards everyone else. What I didn't know was that once I had let go of Rarity, both myself and herself had reappeared fully in front of our eyes.

"What was that?" I asked myself out loud.

"Were we invisible?" questioned Rarity.

 _ _How is that possible?__ I thought to myself. __I can't perform any kind of magic whatsoever...__

"That was indeed intriguing, Robert, darling." Rarity finished.

"You can say that again." I added.

Twilight and the others heard us conversing with each other and came over to greet us right away. The way Twilight greeted us, it was as if she hadn't seen us in years. She hugged us both tightly, which to me felt like she wanted to squeeze me to death, and then saw the confused looks in our faces.

"Lighten up, Twilight," I said, "we've been here for only a few hours."

"Few hours?" Twilight repeated.

"Why, yes, Twilight," Rarity assured, "we've been trapped in the throne room for-"

"For a few __years.__ " interrupted Lunar.

"Few __years?__ " I immediately responded.

"Yes," assured Twilight.

"How can that be?" Rarity asked as she turned her attention towards me.

"Why, we were kept inside the throne room for mere hours." I told Twilight. "I remember that you and the others went in search for the Elements of Harmony that Discord hid accompanied by Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, and Prince Lunar."

"That happened about two years ago, Robert." Twilight meekly replied, crouching down to talk to me face-to-face.

"How could that have been a few years?" I questioned. "I was awake the entire time...at least I think I was."

"Robert," Celestia calmly started.

"Nopony has seen or even heard from either you or Rarity in two years." Luna added.

"You've both been gone during that time and we never found you." Cadance spoke.

"But if we've been here for that amount of time," I retorted, "how come nobody thought to search for us?"

Silence trickled down after as nobody dared respond to my question.

"How come nobody searched for us for two years if you knew where we were?" I demanded.

I actually was fuming right now. However, I figured that since I'm still much smaller in size compared to everyone else, I'd better not lose my cool, or else I'd be the one who would pay for their actions.

"Twilight," Rarity called while using her magic to place me on her back.

Twilight stood back up as I was placed down on top of Rarity's back. I guess Rarity knew the circumstances of my fuming mood and knew just what could happen if someone took it the wrong way, so she made it a mission to provide me with safety. Twilight looked away while I was placed upon Rarity's back.

"Discord and King Sombra are the ones who rule Equestria now." Twilight regretfully spoke.

My jaw dropped as that sentence penetrated and violated my ears. Honestly, loud sounds could hurt me, but this just killed me. What happened to the two of us? How was it that we were gone for that long of time? What did those monsters do to Rarity and myself?

"Say it ain't so, Twilight," I sighed ruefully.

"I'm afraid it is, Robert." Twilight answered.

"How is that possible?" I asked Rarity.

"What exactly happened on the day we formerly disappeared?" Rarity asked Twilight, though she was looking at me and wrapping her head around my body.

I swear I felt a tear come down the side of Rarity's face as she wrapped her head around me. I knew how hard this was for both of us to take in, especially her. Because the two of us went missing for the last three years, Equestria was left without one of its most powerful means of defense. It hurt me pretty badly to know that, because of our absence, Equestria fell to the likes of Discord and King Sombra.

"Well," began Twilight, "after we left the throne room, we immediately rushed toward the location you gave us, 212° and 0° according to the you."

"Once we arrived," Pinkie Pie continued, "we found the Elements of Harmony hanging from an oddly planted tree."

"It was then when we finally figured out that neither one of you had followed us there." Rainbow Dash said.

"After we rounded up the Elements," Applejack spoke, "we rushed straight back here to find y'all."

"But...umm," Fluttershy quietly added, "what we...umm...found was..."

"What we found was that Discord and King Sombra had taken over and had you two as hostages." Celestia told us.

"The two threatened to end you both if we ever tried to break you out of the prison they had you in." Cadance added.

"We ultimately were forced to surrender, seeing how not a single one of us had the power to defeat either villain, let alone both of them." Luna said.

"After that, Discord and King Sombra forcefully removed us all from the throne room and assumed control of Equestria and...and it just hasn't been the same since then..." finished Lunar.

"And to think," I softly spoke to Rarity, "none of this wouldn't have happened if we had followed Twilight and the others out of the door to find our precious Elements."

"Oh, Robert, dear," Rarity replied, "don't be so hard on yourself."

I felt Rarity's head turn a bit. I'm assuming that she turned her head to face Twilight.

"I'm certain that there is a way to bring them down, if you will." Rarity stated.

"We've already tried that, Rare," Applejack answered.

"But that was without our presence," I butted in, "perhaps if we were there to help, things might've ended a bit differently."

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to bust out of the prison Dipwad and King Stupid put us in?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"Nothing can defeat us when we are all together." I protested.

That last statement made everybody think. I mean, really, really think. It was like I asked one of those life questions that everybody had to think about to get an answer to.

"Separate," I picked up after some tense silence, "we are all very different from each other, are we not?"

I saw everybody glance around towards each other, including the three princesses, though my statement was meant more towards the mane six, plus myself and, indirectly, Lunar, even if I still didn't have his full trust.

"Rainbow Dash is greatly athletic," I spoke, "whereas Rarity, here, is a unique fashionista. Applejack is a cowgirl herself, whereas Fluttershy is a timid Pegasus with many animal friends. Twilight here is an outgoing librarian and, now, a Princess, taking everything seriously with high sophistication and high needs, whereas Pinkie Pie is an outgoing pony, partying all night and day, while still finding energy to help out others. And you, Lunar. I don't really know much about you, but I do know that you bring constant happiness to Twilight here." I paused for a brief moment to collect my breath. "As for myself, I don't fit in here. My special talent is a talent that this world has yet to discover, at least that's what I believe. I am just as different as all of you, yet deep down, we are all the same, having the same problems and being brought closer together. Deep down, we all may be drastically different, but we are all friends and, more importantly, we are all ponies - mares and, in my case and Lunar's case, colts. We all may not have a lot in common, but we all do bring out the best in each other, which is what makes us all great friends. It doesn't matter if we all had nothing in common or everything in common. What matters is that we are all great friends that have adventures, together, while bringing out the best in us, together, and while overcoming every obstacle, together, no matter what is thrown in our direction."

That was a truly deep statement I said. I began feeling a tear escape from my eye, so I quickly wiped it away with my hoof, hoping that nobody saw me tear up a bit. What I said, what everyone heard, was the honest and generous truth. We are all loyal towards each other, sharing plenty of laughs along the way, but deep down, we are all kind spirits; our friendship, truly magical. Together, we made ourselves truly happy and together, up until now, we have been able to overcome all obstacles that were thrown at us. Now, in a really tense time, the friendships we've all crafted need us now more than ever because it is within the friendships that we have that will change the world for the better. I took one last breath and finally finished my long, inspirational speech.

I think I'm starting to sound exactly like Twilight, aren't I?

"Together, we've been able to overcome all challenges thrown at us." I continued. "This is no different. Our friendships need us now more than ever and it is within out friendships that we will find the strength to defeat Discord and King Sombra. What do you say?"

I held out my tiny hoof, hoping everybody would join me. After giving each other quick glances, everyone started joining me in unison, touching my tiny hoof in the process.

"He's right," Twilight agreed, "it is because of the friendships that we have crafted that we have been able to overcome all challenges thrown in our way. This challenge is no different than any other challenge given to us."

"Right," Celestia added, "now it's up to the friendships each of you have created and shaped up to bring down one of the most greatest threats Equestria has ever witnessed. It is up to you to bring order, peace, tranquility, and harmony back to Equestria. Are you up to the task?"

"We are, Princess," everyone stated.

"Good," Celestia continued, "now let us go and bring down Discord and King Sombra, together, using the Elements of Harmony and the magic of friendship."

With that said, Twilight led the group out of the castle we had been trapped in for a while, leading us straight towards the new castle that Discord and King Sombra called home.

* * *

"There it is..." Twilight exclaimed, pointing to the destination – the dark, devious destination.

"Wow..." I replied. "It's a lot bigger than I had previously imagined."

"Everything is a lot bigger than you imagined, Robert..." Twilight quietly spoke, but loud enough for me to hear her.

"Boy, you can sure say that again, __Princess__ Twilight." I told her.

Twilight gave a sinister glare to me, knowing quite well that I knew the severe consequences for messing with her, in a playful manner, that is. I knew that very well, like you know, having some close calls along the way. This time, I failed to care, since I knew that Twilight got what was coming to her. I saw that Rarity was overlooking what was going on between Twilight and myself. I glanced over towards Rarity and proceeded to ask her a question.

"You'd protect me in my current state," I began, "right Rarity?"

"I'd do the best I possibly can, dear," answered Rarity as she levitated me on top of her back.

I loved the way Rarity answered my questions with integral honesty and sheer sophistication sounding within her high societal voice. Either way, we all faced the large, dark castle that was in front of us and proceeded to go inside of it as we planned.

"Are you all ready?" Twilight asked, handing each of us our respective Element of Harmony.

"Ready, Twilight," we all said in unison upon receiving our Elements.

 _I have a few questions first,_ I thought to myself, _such as "how is my Element my size now and not larger than I am?"_

I was probably the most surprised out of everyone here for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the large castle surely caught me off guard, for I did not expect Discord and King Sombra to be ruling from a new, unseen castle. Secondly, I was surprised when I received my Element of Happiness. The necklace that goes around my neck (duh) had shrunk down to my size as well. I don't know if that was also the work of King Sombra - shrinking it, that is - or if Twilight had done that with her magic prior to her handing it over to me. Either way, my Element was matching my size and, as I attached it to my neck, the remainder of the group proceeded to breach the perimeter of the castle.

"Everypony remember the plan?" Twilight cautiously asked.

"I have a feeling that this would go a lot smoother if we were invisible like before," I quietly offered to Rarity, "wouldn't you agree, dear?"

"I'd agree with you one hundred percent, Robert," replied Rarity, "but do you recall how exactly you were able to do that?"

"Not at all..." I meekly said,

I had phased out a bit, getting drawn in by the large details of the structure. Seeing a new castle that was never-before-seen on the show was astonishing, to say the least. I had admired not only the complexion of the castle, but it's large stature as well. The windows, pillars, and, oddly, the lighting all grabbed my attention for quite some time. Once I began to phase back and pay attention to my surroundings again however, I heard Twilight and Princess Celestia finish whatever it was they were saying to us all.

"...and that's how we'll go about this." finished Twilight.

"Sounds intriguing," Celestia responded, "now just remember: the throne room we are searching for resides towards the top of the castle."

"Stealth and silence is truly key here if we want to navigate the halls without being detected." Luna added, almost like she knew the sheer danger that roamed through the halls.

"Once we get to the throne room," Cadance continued, "it'll be up to you seven while Princesses Celestia and Luna, along with myself and Prince Lunar, attempt to hold down both Discord and King Sombra with our magic."

"Everyone understand the plan and the goal here?" Twilight questioned once more.

"Ready, Twilight," everyone replied in unison again (side note, the unison reply is kinda creepy a second time around, not so much the first time).

"Then let's move out!" ordered Twilight.

With that said, we began navigating through the nearly pitch black hallways, searching for the throne room and, more importantly, Discord and King Sombra. Walking past all of these windows and pillars gave me a few shivers deep inside me, but I managed to shake them off for the time being. A few more moments passes by before Applejack alerts us that to staircase that is over on the far side of the empty and quiet hallway we were currently in. I was amazed that she managed to see that in this poorly lit castle, but we had a job to do and getting distracted by little things was not part of the plan.

These castle halls were eerily quiet...too quiet to be perfectly honest. But, like usual, I was overthinking the entire situation. Twilight certainly wasn't, praising Applejack for her find.

"Good job, Applejack," Twilight smiled., "we'll use that staircase to get to the top floor quicker."

"Hold your horses, Twilight," I quickly said, causing Twilight and everyone to stop in their tracks.

"'Hold your horses?'" Twilight reiterated.

"It's an expression back home for me," I explained.

"Seems legitimate," answered Lunar sarcastically.

"What's wrong, darling," Rarity asked as I jumped off her back.

"Something just doesn't seem right," I told everyone in general.

"What do you mean, Robert?" Pinkie Pie questioned.

"I mean, this seems too simple and too good to be true." I said. "Something must either be watching us, following us, or waiting for us down this hall. It just doesn't make sense how a large castle like this, which had two rulers at the top of it, has zero guards patrolling the halls." I turned to Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance. "Surely you wouldn't have castles that have zero guards for any of you, am I right?"

"Quite." Luna responded boldly.

"You make a good point," Celestia said, backing me up with appraisal and amazement.

"How do you think we should check to see if the coast is clear?" Fluttershy asked.

"That's where my small size comes in handy, finally," I answered back.

"What do you suppose you'll do?" Twilight immediately questioned.

"I'll go up ahead and make sure the coast is perfectly clear." I offered. "If it is, I'll come back and lead the way."

"Sounds like a plan," Rainbow Dash praised.

"Fine." Twilight added.

"Just be careful, Robert, darling." Rarity finished.

I smiled brightly at Rarity as I began proceeding down the large, dark hallway. My keen senses of navigating through thick and heavy darkness was perfect for this kind of job. It also helped in trying to locate any guards that were idly standing by.

 _ _Not a single soul anywhere...__ I thought to myself.

I had reached the end of the hallway fairly quickly and failed to spot any guards along the way. I turned around and headed on back towards the group to confirm that we are able to continue down the hall without being noticed. Once I reached everyone again, I confirmed that it was safe to advance.

"Good work, Robert," Luna praised, causing me to smile brightly as I was being levitated once more onto Rarity's back.

"That was good work, Robert," Rarity added, turning and kissing my head in the process. I felt so useful just now. It felt really good to know that my services are still helpful, even though my stature is completely small now.

The approach to the stairs was uneventful, although the stairs themselves appeared as if they would likely kickstart an event, seeing how old, damaged, and raggedy looking they were.

 _Odd,_ I thought while we started the ascension to the top he tower, _where did they get these stairs? Did they purposely make them like this?_

I could hear Rarity groan slightly while she started making her way up the first few steps. It sounded an awful like she was tired, although I couldn't exactly confirm it just yet.

"How much longer until we get there?" Rarity asked frontrunner Twilight. "My hooves are killing me..."

"We've just started our ascension, Rarity." Twilight bluntly replied.

"What a long way to go, though..." I meekly added, "I mean, just look how high this staircase goes!"

Hypothetically speaking, as soon as I finished that statement, you could hear the eyes popping as the group gazed upward at the towering staircase. This spiraling staircase reminded me of how Mario has to ascend up to the skies and descend to the bottom of the ocean, into the depths of a fiery, lava-filled castle, thwarting the plans of a freaking giant turtle day in and day out, over and over again, just to save the princess. Then everything is put on hold when they race go-karts together or play tennis. Seriously, Nintendo?

"Well, uhh, shall we proceed upwards?" I uncomfortably asked.

"Robert's right," Princess Cadance chimed, "the quicker we climb up, the quicker we can reach King Sombra and Discord."

I heard Lunar whisper something to Twilight in the process, probably purposely doing so since it looked like he knew our voices would echo off of the walls.

"Easy for him to say," he whispered to Twilight, "he doesn't have to walk up these stairs."

Twilight giggled lightly while I grew cross. I wanted to say something towards Lunar, but opted not to due to size difference. We all then resumed navigating our way up the long, tiring staircase. Riding on Rarity's back, I began to slowly nod off and fall asleep. As I began to fully escape reality, the last item that passed by in my head was to hope to not fall off Rarity's back. The last thing I wanted was to be left behind by accident.

* * *

"The Elements," Twilight panicked, "why aren't they doing anything?"

"What did you do to them?" Princess Celestia demanded.

 _ _What's going on?__ I thought to myself.

I looked around and checked my surroundings. Apparently, I was normal size and was standing between Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Behind us was Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance. Princess Luna and Prince Lunar, on the other hand, were nowhere to be seen.

"Isn't this a wonderful surprise!" A new voice stated.

 _ _That voice!__ I shrieked, which is something I rarely ever do to myself. __It sounds too familiar!__

"What have you done to the Elements of Harmony, you freak!?" Rainbow Dash demanded to know.

"How dare you speak to your princess that way!" Another voice boomed.

 _ _Princess?__ I asked myself, only to be stopped by a magical attack striking me down.

"Robert!" Everyone screamed.

"Ohh...my head..." I groaned.

"Take that as a warning, you ungrateful whelp!" The second voice stated.

"Robert," Fluttershy cried, "are you alright?"

"No..." I coughed. "My head is spinning round and round, like a record player, round, round, round..."

Although I had a dazed look in my eyes, I managed to see Twilight's concerned look and everyone else's feared look they had. Shortly thereafter, I noticed that all of the ponies turned back around, offering their attentions back towards the two voices.

"What have you done to the Elements!?" Princess Cadance demanded.

"Explain yourself, Princess Luna!" snapped Princess Celestia.

"I've told you time and time again, do _**NOT**_ call us that name, _**ever**_!" Princess Luna yelled.

"Calm down, Princess Luna!" I managed to shout, feeling some tense pain mount on the inside of my body, namely, my lungs and heart.

"Thou don't get us, does thou?" Princess Luna smirked.

"Robert's right," Twilight feebly added, "you have to calm yourself down, Princess Luna. None of us wants to see you damage yourself."

"How can thou stop that which is unstoppable?" Princess Luna replied, blasting us all to oblivion.

"You cannot stop the queen of the eternal night!" The second voice shouted, adding to Luna's devastating magical beams.

"Lunar!" Twilight cried. "You need to stop!"

But he didn't stop as Lunar and Luna continued their onslaught to the ponies, myself included. Dodging a nearby beam of magic, Celestia composed herself, standing up to her corrupted sister.

"Princess Luna!" Celestia shouted. "Stop this, this moment!"

"Twilight!" Princess Cadance worriedly yelled.

"From this moment forward," Princess Luna started, "we shall forever be known as Nightmare Moon and my night will rightfully last forever!"

Some lightning and thunder kicked in around Nightmare Moon's long, flowing mane for an additional effect. Princess Celestia tried to reason with Princess Luna - Nightmare Moon – and Prince Lunar – Twilight's Lunar – but was unfortunately struck down by some magic that came from a new source. I had backtracked the magic to its point of origin and was shocked to find out that the originating point was Princess Cadance's horn!

"Sorry it had to be this way, Princess Celestia!" Cadance menacingly said.

"Ugh...Princess...Cadance?" I grunted and struggled to say. "But...but, why?"

"Because this is how it was meant to happen!" snapped Cadance, striking me down permanently with one final blast of magic.

 _ _This can't be happening__ _,_ I thought, _ _it just can't...__

I heard hoofsteps come slowly over towards my position, three sets of hoofsteps to be more specific. I looked over my collapsed body and saw Nightmare Moon, Prince Lunar, and Princess Cadance tower over me.

"You've interfered with our plans one too many times!" Cadance spoke.

"Now you must be dealt with!" Lunar added.

"And you shall be punished," finished Nightmare Moon, stomping one of her heavy hooves on my body, "permanently!" She stomped on my body yet again.

I screamed out in pain, coughing up an alarming amount of blood in the process. I saw Cadance step forward a bit and gaze down at my beaten up body. She began saying something but, due to the amount of blood I had lost, I had started fazing out and began to lose consciousness. I saw Cadance tip her head over and jab her horn into my body, delivering the final blow that sent me spiraling into a state of unconsciousness.

* * *

"Gah!"

I found myself back as my "old" self - tiny, perched on Rarity's back, alive - as if nothing had happened at all. Apparently, however, my scream seemed to startle everypony else. Rarity jumped at the sound of my scream, almost causing me to fall off. She turned her head and began asking me if everything was fine.

"Everything is alright, sweetie," I replied.

"Then why on earth did you shout like that?" Rarity questioned.

"Umm...I felt something crawling around, umm, my mane and that frightened me," I lied, "I'm sorry if I scared any of you."

"It's fine, Robert," Twilight answered, stepping up to face me, "it was an accident. Accidents happen from time to time."

"Thank you for understanding, everypony." I spoke as we began continuing up the staircase.

"You're welcome, Robert." Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight replied in unison.

We pursued upward a little further before meeting an unusual door at the top of the staircase face-to-face. We all crowded around the door as Twilight began saying something.

"There it is," she started, "the door to the throne room..."

"Beyond this door lies Discord and King Sombra," Princess Celestia reminded us, "it is within this room where harmony will return to Equestria after a long absence."

"Everypony ready to go inside?" Twilight asked as Celestia finished her statement.

"We're ready, Twilight," we all spoke in unison (again, the unison thing is completely starting to scare the hell out of me).

"Then let's bring back harmony to Equestria!" Twilight assured us.

Facing the doors, Twilight had bursted through them and ran into the throne room, closely followed by the rest of us. Inside was a large, dark room, however, neither Discord nor King Sombra were anywhere to be seen. We had approached the thrones slowly, noticing that we were the only ponies inside the room, which was unusual to the maximum since there was only one way in and one way out, and this was the location where Discord and King Sombra had been ruling, according to Twilight and the others.

"So," I began, "where are they?"

"Are you sure we're in the right castle, Twilight?" questioned Pinkie Pie.

"This is the castle they have ruled from the last couple of years," Twilight replied.

"A+ for the brainiac!" A sinister voice spoke.

That dragged our attention away from each other and we began frantically looking around the room for the source of the voice. Well, putting it in perspective, Twilight, Rarity, along with the others were looking around frantically. I, on the other hand, was looking in the spot you'd least expect to find anything: above our heads.

I looked up, using my keen senses to locate any moving activity above us. The typical creature can't stay perfectly still at all; they have to move, as per their breathing. No matter how hard someone or something tries to remain still, they will be spotted because they are moving ever so slightly. I know that for a fact because, when I was younger, I used to go out into the nearby forest along with a few of my friends, and we'd play Capture the Flag with our paintball guns. I was always a sniper since my senses could easily locate anyone at any moment. I never got shot, but as for my friends on the enemy team, they always saw my paintballs splatter across either their chest, their helmet (which, on a side note, even though it is illegal in most types of combat, we made it so that only the snipers could aim for the head and, should anybody get shot in the head by a sniper, their "respawn" time was doubled from fifteen seconds to thirty), or their legs, if my aiming was off a bit. I could spot anyone within the shot/blast radius easily and always made myself known. Back home, I was known as the "Ghost Sniper," a name that was given to me by my friends since I was silent, but deadly. Here, it was no different. I looked up and began searching for any slight movement. As my eyes neared the ceiling space around the door, I noticed a body up on the ceiling and made them known to everyone.

"He's over near the doorway, on the ceiling," I alerted everyone.

Everyone's head turned towards the ceiling around the doorway, though nobody believed me since their senses weren't as keen as mine were, so they failed to spot any movement.

"There's nothing there." Rainbow Dash spoke.

"I give you my word that they are there," I replied. I turned towards Twilight, "Go ahead," I said, "hit it with a magic beam or something."

"Alright," agreed Twilight, "but only because you seem so sure of yourself."

"Thank you." I happily obliged as Twilight shot the dark figure with some magic.

"It seems as if you know your stuff, Robert," the being stated, slowly falling to the ground as the magic Twilight was offering was pelting them.

"How do you know my name?" I hissed.

"Because you're the one the prophesy foretold of, stupid!" They replied, slowly approaching us all.

"Not. Another. Step!" I warned.

"And what are __you__ gonna do about it, hmm?" The being mocked. "You can't use any magic now, not after what King Sombra did to you!"

"How do you know that!?" I demanded to know, wanting to give a piece of my mind to this beast, unfortunately knowing that I couldn't really do any physical damage to them.

"Because I was the one who told him to do that!" The being answered, stepping into some dim light to reveal themselves.

"And what have you done with King Sombra, Discord?" Princess Luna asked.

"He's being taken care of," Discord sinisterly replied, "permanently!"

"Sure he has," scoffed Lunar, "you were all goodie, goodie friends before. Why would you break up with him now?"

"That is none of your business, you brat!" Discord shouted towards Lunar.

"You neigh talk like that to my student!" Luna responded, defending Lunar by firing a warning shot to Discord.

 _Lunar is Luna's student?_ I thought, seeing the signs of connectivity now. Lunar, Luna...should've been easy to make that kind of connection, right?

"Former student, actually," Lunar smiled at Luna, also firing off a warning shot to Discord, "and if you think we're here to simply have a nice, little chat with you – newsflash, buddy – you thought wrong!"

I tugged on Rarity's mane slightly so that I could grab her attention. She turned her head and questioned what it was that I needed.

"If it's only him now," I whispered, "why not use the Elements now? I mean, it's not like we have to deal with two enemies simultaneously anymore. Discord foolishly took care of that for us."

"I'll bring that up with Twilight." Rarity told me, turning and facing Twilight.

Discord failed to notice Rarity as she began to approach Twilight fairly slowly. Once Rarity was within distance of Twilight, she whispered over my suggestion and nodded. Twilight then glanced over at Princess Cadance, who was overlooking both Twilight and Rarity and, from the looks of it, motioned her eyes towards Discord. Princess Cadance didn't quite understand the hint, so Twilight pointed towards her horn first, then motioned her eyes towards Discord, signaling that Twilight requested that she used her magic to hold down Discord. Princess Cadance understood the hint this time on account of magic aura encasing her horn as she began to hold down Discord.

"Well," began Discord, "this sure is a nice surprise, isn't it? I suppose now you'll all use those precious Elements of Harmony on me now, won't you?"

"Something doesn't seem right," I quietly spoke.

Rarity must have heard my thought since she turned her head around and asked me what I meant by that. I sighed then grabbed Twilight's attention as well, requesting her closer to me so that I could easily explain myself only once.

"What's the problem, Robert?" Twilight kindly asked.

"This doesn't seem right," I replied.

"How so?"

"It's as if Discord wants us to use the Elements of Harmony on him." I answered. "Plus, why would he suddenly get rid of King Sombra? I realize it's been a while since we've seen him, but suddenly King Sombra isn't around anymore? Something just doesn't feel right in this predicament."

"What do you suppose we do then, Robert?" Rarity asked me.

"Honestly," I replied, "this has happened once to me back home and the way I coped with it was that I proceeded to ask numerous amounts of questions - most of which were the same, on a side note - until I got the answers I was searching for. I called it the good cop, bad cop routine...it was...let's just leave it at it was a working routine."

"It would probably do us some good if we did the same to him." Twilight suggested. "And now might be the best time since Cadance has him held down."

"And if things start to get a little out of...hoof, Princesses Celestia and Luna could just add some sturdiness to the imprisonment of Discord with their magic along with Prince Lunar." I added. "So now is probably the only good time we have since nobody is here and we have Discord trapped."

"Sounds like a plan." Rarity praised. "But what do you suppose we ask him?"

"Just leave that to me, sweetie," I said.

"It's up to you, Robert." Twilight told me. "You know how to deal with this better than any of us. We're counting on you."

"I'll do my best, Twilight." I responded as I jumped off Rarity's back and began approaching Discord.

"Be careful, Robert, darling," called Rarity.

Approaching Discord, he looked down, noticing me and laughing at me in the process.

"Well, look who we have here..." Discord spoke.

I approached Discord cautiously, not knowing exactly what the master of chaos was capable of doing while being held down against his will. I was about a few feet away from Discord, though far enough so that I was outside his reach, should he try to stomp on me. I looked up at the draconequus and stared him down, hypothetically speaking, that is.

"...where is he?" I questioned.

"I told you," Discord answered, "I got rid of him."

"So, where is he?" I asked once more.

"I got rid of him." He said.

"And you got rid of him where, exactly?" I continued.

"Robert," Twilight called out.

I turned my head slightly, not taking my eyes off of the master of chaos at all. "Yes?" I called out to Twilight.

"Are you sure that this is going to work?" She asked with uncertainty.

"Sounds like you're wasting your time." Discord added.

"Trust me on this one, Twilight," I answered in reply, "this may take a while, but I know exactly what to do."

"We're counting on you, Robert." Celestia told me.

"I won't fail you, girls." I assured them.

"And colt." added Lunar.

"And colt." I finished, still staring at Discord.

"You're wasting your time, Robert." Discord stated.

"Am I, really?" I questioned.

Reverse psychology was my master plan here. What I was trying to do was woo Discord into the trap and use his own words against him, ultimately revealing the location of King Sombra, his master plan, and, if possible, the history of Equestria these last few years.

"You are!" Discord snapped. I could sense anger in his voice, which was one step in the right direction for me in trying to lull him into my trap.

"So, Discord," I started after a while, "chaos must be a wonderful thing to you, isn't it?"

"Chaos, Robert, is a wonderful, wonderful thing in general!" Discord told me.

"And with great chaos comes great responsibility, am I not right?"

"You know your chaos material, Robert," Discord praised, "I'm utterly surprised by this."

"Well," I kept going, "my tiny size is an example of size chaotic-ness, right?"

"Correct again, Robert," Discord replied, "and size chaotic-ness is an easily fixable type of chaos."

"Oh, is it, now?" I questioned.

"If you'd like," Discord added, "I can make you your normal size in exchange for my release."

"I wasn't born yesterday, Discord," I spoke without hesitation, "two things are true as per your statement. First, this is King Sombra's doing, not yours. Second, if I had agreed to that, you'd request to be released first, then fix me up. Don't get me wrong, as much as I'd love to be back at my normal size again, if we released you, you wouldn't fix me up. You'd instead escape while the timing is right."

"How do you know that will happen entirely?" Discord asked me. I sensed that he was trying to convince me to release him.

"Well," I began, "let's just say that I know how villains work and what makes them tick, so to speak."

"And what do you suppose makes me tick, if you're so sure of yourself?" Discord continued. "Tell you what. You correctly guess what makes me tick, I'll fix you up without releasing me."

"Sounds intriguing," I answered back, "but I'm afraid I'll have to decline that generous offer."

I wasn't stupid in the slightest. That offer wasn't as dreaming as it sounded. Like I said, this was the work of King Sombra, and his magic compared to Discord's were two different kinds of magic – draconequus magic to dark unicorn magic. Plus, I knew that Discord was still trying to lull me into a state where he would be in control of the reverse psychology. I stood my ground and started tugging on this metaphorical rope, trying to position it back in my favor.

"That was a generous offer, Discord," I stated once more, "but, I'll decline that offer. However, chaos, disharmony, and disarray in Equestria is what makes you tick."

"Very well put, Robert." praised Discord.

"Thank you, Discord," I said.

"Once again, Robert," Twilight sighed, "is this going anywhere?"

I turned around and approached Twilight. After coming close to her, I motioned for her to lend me an ear, so to speak. She bent down and I neared her ear so I could whisper my condolences to her.

"I'm trying to lull Discord into reverse psychology." I said. "If I can do that, I'll get him to reveal the whereabouts of King Sombra, his plan, and, in my case, the history of Equestria these last couple of years, but I'll need some more time since this is the master of chaos I'm dealing with."

Twilight pulled away her head and looked down upon me. She nodded slowly as she began to approach Princess Celestia, who probably didn't understand fully what I was doing either. I, on the other hand, turned around and approached Discord once more.

"So," I picked up, "chaos...wonderful thing, isn't it?"

"The best, Robert." Discord replied again.

"I'm just stumped," I slowly stated, trying to drag Discord into my trap indirectly.

"About what?"

"I'm stumped to the chaotic disappearance of King Sombra," I continued, "what happened to him? Do you know?"

"I told you," Discord stated, "I got rid of him permanently."

"So, where is he?" I asked.

"Not here in this room, I'll tell you that." answered Discord.

"And by that you mean...?"

"He's not in the throne room." assured Discord.

"Would he be on the first floor?" I asked.

"Nope." Discord said.

"Second?" I replied.

"Nope."

"Third?"

"Nope."

"Is he inside this castle?" I asked.

"Perhaps." answered Discord.

"...tell me," I said once more, "is he here in this room?"

"Like I would take care of him and leave him in the throne room." Discord scoffed.

 _ _His answer was different to the other ones__ _,_ I thought, __King Sombra is located somewhere inside this room.__

"Twilight," I called out, "could you go along the perimeter of this room and search for King Sombra with the others? I have a strong feeling he's here with us."

I gave Discord a comfortable smirk as I requested that Twilight search the perimeter. I noticed Discord had a troubled look upon his face as I knew that he knew that I was right to trust my instincts.

"What's the matter, Discord?" I asked, playing around with his emotions. "Something troubling you?"

Discord paid his attention towards me once more, trying to successfully get rid of the concerned look he had on his face, though it was no use.

"It's just that you're all wasting your time!" Discord stated, uncertainty sounding within his voice.

"If you're so sure of yourself that King Sombra isn't here," I replied, "what do you have to lose?"

"I have nothing to lose," Discord answered. "You, however, have everything to lose."

"And by that you-"

"We found him, Robert!" interrupted Princess Luna.

I looked over towards her location and saw King Sombra being held down by Princess Luna's magic as well as Princess Celestia's magic. I looked back towards Discord and began toying with him once more.

"I thought he wasn't here." I playfully remarked.

"Well, I, uhh, I thought he wasn't here." Discord quickly answered.

"Well here he is." I assured as Princesses Luna and Celestia dragged King Sombra next to Discord.

Discord gave King Sombra a harsh glare, almost as if their master plan had developed a problem inside itself. I still wanted to play with Discord's emotions and, now, King Sombra's emotions. I wanted to do this until King Sombra reversed whatever he did to me and make me normal size, not fun sized.

"So, King Sombra," I began, "life as a king must be rough, especially with this one here always in your way."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Discord snapped.

"Relax," I stated, "I'm sure it must not be all fun and games ruling alongside this unicorn, am I right?"

"Easy for you to say." Discord replied.

"You'd better watch yourself, tiny!" King Sombra barked.

"You know," I continued, "that brings me to my next point: why am I small? Do you know anything about this?"

"Maybe I do," King Sombra snickered, "maybe I don't. What's it to you?"

"Well," I said, "I'd like to know since I was hoping that whoever did this could reverse it and make me normal sized."

"Well, that isn't going to happen!" King Sombra crossly replied. "That's not how I work, bub!"

"Is that so, King Sombra?" I quickly replied. I began pacing around, which, back home, was a tactic that made people a tad nervous. "Need I remind you, King Sombra, that you are being held down against your will by two regal, beautiful princesses. I'm quite certain that, if I kindly request to do so, they will increase the power holding you down and suffocate you if you don't cooperate nicely."

I gave Princesses Celestia and Luna a quick glance and noticed that they had both nodded their heads, showing that they would indeed increase the power holding down King Sombra if need be.

"So, I'll ask you again," I kindly continued, "if you know who is responsible for my tiny size, King Sombra, I'd love to know so I can request a reversal of it."

"Like I said before, shrimp," King Sombra stated, "That is not going to happen!"

"To each their own, I guess," I replied. I turned towards the two regal princesses and kindly nodded at both of them. "If you would, please?"

"Absolutely, Robert," Princess Celestia answered.

"Of course." added Princess Luna.

I turned back towards King Sombra, smirking a bit. As the power that was holding him down began to suffocate him, I gave off a larger smile. As King Sombra tried enduring the suffocation, I turned towards Discord and warned him as well.

"Don't think that this won't happen to you as well," I began, "because I'm fairly certain that the beautiful Princess Cadance and strong-willed Prince Lunar would do the exact same thing if I kindly asked them, right you two?"

"Of course, Robert," Cadance replied, smiling brightly at Discord and myself.

"Consider this an exception to me not taking orders from anypony," laughed Lunar, looking at Discord heavily.

"Trust me, Robert," Discord said, "that's the least of our problems."

He gave me an unusual grin. I took note of that, seeing how I knew that neither Discord nor King Sombra could be trusted. Call it being overly dramatic or something but, me being an experienced hunter, I could sense when something goes wrong and fast. I trotted back over towards King Sombra, who appeared to be holding his breath a bit. When someone or something is caught in a trap, holding their breath is the last thing they would want to do, since, when holding your breath under pressure, you tend to pass out quicker than from the pain that would be delivered to you, if there was any that is.

"Stop!" King Sombra shrieked, which surprised the (pardon my language) shit out of me.

"What's that?" I questioned immediately.

"Stop!" Sombra shouted once more. "I'll fix you! Just please stop the pain!"

"Hmm..." I began weighing the decision inside my head. "I don't know...what do you think, Twilight? Should we stop the pain so he can fix me?"

"Oh, please!" Sombra shouted, voice a little higher pitched from the suffocation. "For the love of Celestia, please say yes!"

"Hmm..." Twilight throught, herself weighing the decision as well, "I don't know. You promise to fix Robert up if we stop the suffocation?"

"Yes!" Sombra answered, higher pitched voice once more. "Yes, yes, yes!"

"So," Twilight restarted, "how do you feel about that, Robert?"

"I feel hopeful, Twilight," I answered, "and as so, I kindly ask Princesses Celestia and Luna to cease the suffocation, though continue to hold him down."

"Of course, Robert," replied Celestia.

"Remember, Sombra," Luna added, "we'll start the suffocation once more if you don't fix Robert correctly."

King Sombra struggled to breath and grasp for air. He was still being held down against his will, though he struggled mightily for air. Moments later, a dark, sinister aura wrapped around King Sombra's horn and, ultimately, wrapping around my body. I had shut my eyes and started holding my breath (ironic, right? I just finished saying that holding your breath was the last thing you wanted to do, and here I was doing it anyway) as I felt a magical sensation take me away. Soon afterwards, a sound reminiscent of a cork bottle being popped, per say, sounded and I felt a change being to take place. As soon as the unexplainable change completed itself, I opened my eyes and noticed that I was definitely taller, however, so was everyone else!

"What did you do!?" I shouted at King Sombra.

"You asked me to fix you up," Sombra started, "which I did – you're welcome, by the way – but you never said that everyone else couldn't remain the same!"

"Oooh," Discord slowly stated, "that's the oldest trick in the chaos handbook..."

"Sombra," I began, having to enhance my voice since everyone around me was bickering and frightening about their newfound height increase, "need I remind you that you increased the height of the ponies that are holding you down, thus enhancing their power of magic?"

"Checkmate, smarty." Discord replied, winking at Sombra. "You screwed yourself over."

"Shall they demonstrate their new power?" I added. "I'm most likely sure that, due to the Princesses increased height, if they increase their power, you'll most likely die from suffocation."

"Sombra, I suggest you reverse that spell as well." Discord added.

"I didn't think that one through to the end..." King Sombra spoke.

Sombra utilized his magic once more, shrinking everyone back down to their original sizes. None of these previous events should have even occurred, with the exception of me being brought back to my normal size. What I didn't know still was if I was able to utilize my magic. So, I tried something basic - levitation or even lighting up the area - and found that I was able to perform those two actions easily. I had missed my emerald aura very much. It does indeed look beautiful with the light glistening and sparkling off of it.

I turned to Twilight and Rarity and smiled brightly. They returned the smile, but Twilight's quickly faded as she got right back down to business. She alerted me that the Elements of Harmony should end the dreadful nightmare, and I humbly obliged.

"Just one question, Twilight," I continued.

"What is it, Robert?" She replied.

"How do I activate my Element of Happiness?" I asked.

I got a giggle as a response, which confused me a little bit. "Just relax and let your happiness take over. The Element will do the rest."

I nodded, then proceeded to stand next to Pinkie Pie and Applejack. We had all stood together in a long, horizontal line and, one by one, each Element had activated on their own. With the exception of the Element of Magic, my Element of Happiness was the last Element to activate fully, mainly since I was having a hard time tracing my inner happiness. What triggered my Element to work was the thought about this adventure and how much I've grown on this journey, what I've learned about each and everyone, my past life – namely Ariana – and my future life and what was to come here in Equestria.

As soon as my Element of Happiness triggered, the Element of Magic also triggered and a spiraling rainbow, similar to the one that always shoots out of the rest of the Elements of Harmony whenever they were used. The spiraling rainbow shot upwards out of us, reached a peak near the top of the room, bent over, and surrounded both King Sombra and Discord. Although he was once reformed, the Elements of Harmony transformed him back into a stone statue and, having never been previously exposed to the Elements of Harmony, King Sombra had reverted back to his hazy state (reminiscent of when he returned to conquer the Crystal Empire after his thousand year disappearance) and the Elements of Harmony contained the haze.

As soon as the rainbow ceased fire, both villains were fully and successfully defeated. A round of cheers went all around as Princesses Celestia and Luna began to head back to the Canterlot Castle with the stone statue of Discord in tact. Princess Cadance returned back home towards the Crystal Empire as well, and we were all left alone. Another round of cheers went around before we decided to start the journey home.

* * *

A few hours had passed before we had finally arrived back in Ponyville. It's been a long time since I've seen this little, quiet town, but it definitely felt like I have yet to miss a single beat here. I may have missed a lot in the two years that Rarity and I have been gone, but being back home felt wonderful.

Upon reaching the town square, we had all circled around each other, cheered once more for the returning of harmony back in Equestria, and went our separate ways for now. It was late when we arrived home, so we all went back to our homes to sleep for the night before celebrating in the morning, as per Pinkie Pie's request.

Since I still had no true home yet, Rarity allowed me to sleep over at her home, which I appreciated very much. She didn't have to do this, but I was grateful that she did offer me some of her hospitality. Plus, she asked me to stay by her side forever, which I simply couldn't say no to.

Rarity and myself had arrived at the Carousel Boutique shortly after parting ways with Twilight and the others and, being the gentleman I was, I opened up the door for Rarity with my magic, which she praised me for and for my gentleman-like posture. She led the way up to the spare room and, once we stepped hoof inside the room, helped me make the bed with her magic. I had gotten into the bed and, expecting Rarity to go into her room, she stood with me.

"Anything troubling you, Rarity?" I asked.

"Nothing at all," she replied, "I was just wondering if...well...this seems like an absolutely preposterous idea but, I was wondering if, perhaps, you would like to cuddle together, if you're okay with that that is."

"If you want to," I stated, "then let's sleep together."

"Thank you for fulfilling my request Robert!" Rarity chimed, clapping her front hooves together rapidly.

"You're very welcome, sweetie." I said as Rarity positioned herself next to me on the bed.

Her warm body pressed up against mine was magnificent. After a while, I began stroking her mane ever so gently with my hoof, which she let me do without arguing. She had fallen asleep not too long afterwards, as did I, letting my vast imagination carry me away to peace and serenity.

* * *

I awoke with a fright in the middle of the night as I tried my best not to disturb Rarity in her sleep. I began feeling an uncomfortable pain inside my chest and used my magic to keep Rarity stationary as I crawled out of the bed we were in. I had originally wanted to pace around inside the room - try to walk off my pain - but found that my hooves clacked against the ground too hard, so I had proceeded outside to attempt walking off my pain.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked myself once I was outside. "Why am I in so much pain?"

The pain started intensifying and unfortunately grounded me. I tried getting somebody's attention, but in the middle of the night, that seemed virtually impossible. The pain shot throughout my body and a sensation that made me light headed momentarily knocked me out unconscious. I had regained consciousness shortly after losing it, but found myself losing it permanently this time as the pain intensified to an unbearable amount. I collapsed on the ground, and nearly lost out on the front lawn of Rarity's home, although unconsciousness was right around the corner from me. Rarity must have heard me outside since she ran out see what was wrong with me, although I couldn't hear anything. Moments later, I finally lost consciousness out on the lawn with Rarity looking down at me, tears falling from her eyes.

* * *

"Robert?"

"How is he, doc?"

What was going on? Where was I?

"He doesn't look too good, Applejack."

"Does that mean..."

"...I'm sorry."

"Oh, Robert, darling..."

What did this mean? Where was I? How did I get here? Better yet, where was here?

I heard some wings flapping in the nearby distance. I could only assume that Rainbow Dash had been hovering in the air, as she always did, but the possibility of someone else entering the room was always there.

"I came as soon as I heard what happened." A new voice beckoned.

"Is there any way to make him better, Princess Celestia?" Rarity asked.

I was caught off guard twice in that brief time frame. Firstly, I hadn't expected the Princess to visit so quickly after the events with Discord and King Sombra. Secondly, I swear I heard Rarity sobbing in the background. What was wrong with me?

"I'll try my best," Celestia assured Rarity, "but..."

"But what?" Twilight questioned after some silent moments passed.

I heard Celestia sigh a bit. Whether anyone else caught that was something I failed to notice, but I noticed the sigh.

"The prophesy foretold of a hero coming to save Equestria from another world." Celestia remarked.

"Which is what happened a few days ago." Rainbow Dash spoke.

"Right," continued Celestia, "but the prophesy also stated that once this task was completed, so will the hero."

"What do you mean?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"That means that the prophesy is telling us that, since Robert saved us all, his time to leave us is nearing." Celestia quietly replied.

"Then that means that his time here in Equestria is nearing completion," I heard Lunar say, "doesn't it?"

"Unfortunately," Princess Celestia sighed.

"Robert...this means that he is going to die?" Rarity asked through some sobbing.

"That's what the prophesy says, Rarity." Celestia confirmed. "I'm sorry..."

"There must be something we can do to prevent this tragedy from coming true." Rarity pleaded.

"What if we offer him some of our magic abilities, Princess?" Twilight suggested. "It's not much, but I know that our magic is what keeps us unicorns going, so to speak."

"We could try that, Twilight," Celestia responded, "but whether or not it's sure to work is another story."

"I'll take any chance I get if it means a chance of living, Princess." Rarity cried.

Silence fell over for a while. I had my eyes shut the entire time, but after a while, I began to feel four horns touch my body and give off some magical energy. The pain I had in my chest was starting to cease, though it still existed inside of me. I had begun opening my eyes to notice that I was in a bed in a hospital most likely (which explains the doctor part). I looked around and saw Princess Celestia, Twilight, Lunar, and Rarity all touching my body with their horns.

"What *cough* is happening *cough*?" I spoke, resulting in the three horns to be lifted off of me.

Rarity's eyes sparkled as she began to embrace me in a hug. Her sobbing was truly impeccable and I was dazed and befuddled. What exactly happened just now?

I didn't say a single word while Rarity hugged me. I thought it would've felt really awkward if I had said something that was completely irrelevant to this moment, so I stood silent. After a while, Rarity pulled her body away from mine and asked me how I felt.

"I *cough* feel fine, Rarity," I answered.

"Are you sure, Robert?" She replied.

"Completely, sweetie." I said.

Celestia stepped forward after Rarity had pulled herself off of the bed I was laying on. She looked me in the eye as she began telling me something.

"I'll make sure you get the best treatment possible, Robert," Celestia spoke. "It will be my way of thanking you for returning harmony back to Equestria."

"Thank *cough* you, Princess," I appreciated.

I felt woozy after a while. I politely asked everyone if it were alright if I caught a little sleep currently. They allowed me to do so, leaving the room I was in and letting me fall perfectly asleep.

 _ _The prophesy states that I'm supposed to die now?__ I thought to myself. __Well, I won't let that happen now...__

* * *

A few hours have passed and all I did was toss and turn in my bed. I couldn't stop thinking about how the prophesy has me dying here or my second chance at living, courtesy of Princess Celestia, Twilight, Lunar, and Rarity. I looked out the window next to me and saw a full moon up high in the sky.

 _ _Nighttime already__ _,_ I thought, __time sure flies by here...__

Just that very instant, I got the craving for some blood. It was unusual, but I wanted to devour some blood in order to quench the thirst that came to me out of nowhere. I felt my canine teeth sharpen and extend themselves, causing me to bite the bottom of my lip, which penetrated the sensitive skin, causing it to bleed slightly.

"That smell!" I said. "That beautiful, beautiful smell!"

Blood had started running down the crease of my mouth as I began sucking it inward. My blood shot down my throat and into my stomach, which relieved the pain inside my body while also quenching my thirst. Sweet...I just killed two birds with one stone by accident.

The blood soon stopped and I soon found out. I desired more blood, but since I couldn't force myself to penetrate my already damaged skin again, I had to improvise.

 _ _Well__ _,_ I thought to myself, __I am inside a hospital. There surely must be blood somewhere inside the building, right?__

I crawled out of the bed, astounded by my new physical strength. I had opened the door to the hallway with my magic and began my quest for more blood. Oddly, I needed it. I desired it, for some strange reason. Weirdly, I craved for more blood and finally, after somewhat extensive searching, I had found it.

I found a package of blood, probably a quart or two, laying on an abandoned cart. I opened up the package and began devouring the tasty, addictive blood. I drank the package dry in a matter of minutes, leaving a red stain above my mouth on my muzzle. I had smelled the remaining blood and began licking it all off.

The blood was all gone, yet I still desired more to drink!

* * *

I awoke the next morning feeling very cheerful, mainly because Rarity was here the first thing in the morning, probably arriving while I was still asleep. She smiled at me, showing off her beautifully white-toothed smile.

"Good morning, Robert!" A cheerful Rarity chimed.

"Good morning, Rarity!" I replied with just as much cheerfulness.

I was still lying on my bed in the hospital, recovering from whatever it was that was driving me insane a few days ago. The doctor, Doctor Whooves, told me that I'll be here for about a month before he can let me go. Rarity, on the other hand, took this as an opportunity to get away from her work to check up on me each and every day.

I was lying in a room to myself with the blinds shut. The room, though the light is poor and visibility is horrid, was simply too hot for me with the shades open. Rarity had begun opening the blinds to the room, but I managed to quickly stop her from doing so.

"Why don't you want me to open up the windows?" She asked me. "Don't you want some fresh air?"

"I'd love some air, Rare," I playfully responded, "it's just that, whatever happened to me left my skin extremely sensitive to light and heat now."

"...if you say so, dear." She answered back, seeming to buy my words.

My intensified smell could smell the aroma of blood and, since Rarity was the closest pony to me, all I could smell was her blood...her sweet, delicious, mouth watering, blood...

 **Snap out of it, you fool!** myinner thoughts prompted me. **You're talking about the pony equivalent of a girlfriend here, you know.**

I know, but her blood is just...it just smells so good right now...

 **Don't even think about it! How do you think she'll react if she found out what you are or what you did last night?**

You're right...but how do I sidestep that? It's not like I can keep a secret for the remainder of our lives...that's a bit over-the-top, you know.

 **Why not tell her when the time seems just right? I'm sure she'll understand, right?**

No! If I told her what I've become - a monster - things will never be the same between us both.

 **You're right...looks like you're gonna have to play this smooth for the time being...**

Told you so...I just hope the unusual behavior towards the sun, blood, and garlic doesn't give me away.

 **Hey, you never know. For all you know, she would accept that unusual behavior. Hey, they've accepted you while you were tiny, what's different about that now?**

"Is everything alright, dear?" Rarity asked, noticing how I was licking my lips.

Snapping out of my monstrosity, I answered her question with another question (what a plot twist!).

"I have a random question for you, dear," I said, "have you ever donated blood before?"

 **Smooth, Robert...real smooth...let's just tell her right off the bat what you are...**

"As a matter of fact, Robert," Rarity started, "I actually donated some blood before. It feels nice to help out others indirectly."

So the blood she donated must be around here somewhere...if only I could find it. It must be somewhere in this hospital, right?

 **Robert, buddy, neither you nor her had been here in a few years. What are the odds her blood is still looming around here and what are the odds you'd find it? Better yet, why do you want to devour your marefriend's blood? That's sick and disgusting! If you're going to feast on blood, at least leave hers out of it! Matter of fact, leave hers, Twilight's, Lunar's. Rainbow Dash's, Fluttershy's, Pinkie Pie's, Applejack's, and anyone else you know, leave their blood out of your mouth!**

"Why do you ask, Robert?" Rarity asked me shortly afterwards.

"I just thought it'd be nice to know that I am in the presence of a heroine." I replied.

"Oh, I'm no heroine, Robert." She spoke.

"You are to somepony out there." I assured her.

We slowly approached each other thereafter and gave each other a little kiss on each other's cheek. Pulling my face away from hers, I began to feel my canine teeth sharpen themselves, so I concentrated to the maximum on reversing the sharpening, and quickly.

 **Hurry up, Robert! Don't want Rarity to know about the teeth yet, now don't we?**

No, I do not...I thought I made this clear a while ago.

 **I thought so too, but apparently it wasn't enough...then again, this is _you_ we're talking about...**

Suddenly, Doctor Whooves came in and alerted Rarity and myself that visiting hours were almost done. As soon as he left, both of us glanced over at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was nearly nine o'clock in the evening!

"Time sure flies by when you are with your loved ones, right Rarity?" I asked.

"It sure does, dear," she replied back, hopping out of the chair she was in. "I'll be back tomorrow again, Robert." She neared my face once more, caressing it gently, then giving me a kiss on my lips. "Sleep tight, sweetie."

"I will, dear," I replied as she stepped out of the room.

 **Good boy, Robert, you made it through _ONE DAY_ without devouring your marefriend. Congratulations. One day down, a shit load more to go.**

Hey! Don't talk like that! But, you know, now that she's gone, in only about three more hours, we can search for your feast that you oh-so desire...how's that sound?

 **THAT sounds wonderful! Now how do you want to pass the time by?**

Sleep?

 **Sleep.**

But I'm not tired, that's the thing...

 **So what do you suppose you do about that? In case you forgot, we're stuck in this hospital.**

I don't know...I don't have a book or anything to do...

 **There is that television set up there in the corner, you know.**

It's not that easy, for your information...

How so? Explain yourself.

 **Well, had we been back home, that box would've acted as a safe haven since you can get literally everything on TV...however, we're here...and that is the first TV I've ever seen in this world, you know. I don't recall seeing a TV on the show.**

You don't recall a lot of things being seen on the show, mister...plus, you've been absent for a few years. Who's to say that technology hasn't advanced significantly here and they haven't discovered the wonderful, wonderful world of television?

 **I'm not one to say that, but I am one to request some blood entering my system, preferably now!**

Not now...give it a few more minutes, then we can prepare ourselves for the feast of a lifetime! In this hospital, there is certain to be gallons of blood just laying around here!

* * *

Later on – much later, to be exact – when all the ponies were asleep for the night and I was finally left alone, I had begun the search to satisfy my crave. It wasn't too hard, seeing how we were in a hospital, but I had to travel to a different floor just to get some of that delectable and delicious blood in my system. It was a bit of a walk, but it was worth it once I found some blood finally.

 **Go on, Robert. Take it...you've earned it after saving Equestria from Discord and King Sombra. Sure it may have taken a while, but you were able to do it. You've earned this.**

I snatched the blood and tore open the bag it was in with my canine teeth and scarfed down the delicious blood. Actually, I was in heaven and paradise, seeing how there was about five or six bags of blood laying before me. This was perfect for me - bags of blood, nobody around me, all to myself. Hell, I might have become a monster, but if my reward is this scrumptious blood, I'll take it!

"Hey!" Someone shouted. "What are you doing!?"

I stopped devouring the blood and faced the pony who had spotted me. They were a lightly colored Pegasus mare and, by the sound of it, a pretty brave one too. She had a relatively dark colored mane and tail and began approaching me.

 **Think fast, Robert! You're a blood sucking, blood devouring monster now! How do you think the public would react if they knew a monster was so close at heart to them? That won't sit nicely with everyone.**

So, what do I do? I don't want to kill her, but I cannot make a break for it...I'm still technically a patient here and if they found out I was no longer in need of there assistance or that I wasn't even in my room, they would figure something out. I've been here mere days and my condition takes time to heal itself, but not this fast.

 **You don't want to kill her...you, my friend, are a monster! How do you think that sounds? 'I don't want to kill her.' You make Boos from Mario seem like they're killing machines if you don't want to take care of this mare...**

I really don't! I'm not a killing machine, you know!

 **Listen to yourself, Robert! What monster doesn't kill!? Especially your kind! Your kind always kills things and beings! You'd be either a laughing stock or a disgrace to your kind if they found out!**

My kind, huh? Name me one pony who is exactly like me and I'll do what my kind is supposed to do.

 **Do you really want to know?**

Yes!

 **You sure?**

Yes!

 **Positive?**

For the love of god, spill the brand already!

 **Alright, but only because you so desperately want me to.**

So, who is exactly like me?

 **Rarity, Robert.**

Rarity? What, are you out your damn mind?

 **Well, it is your mind we're talking about, you know...**

That may be so, but why would you suspect Rarity of being a monster like I am?

 **Think about it...the one time you were really close for an extended period of time was the only time it took for you to become one of then. Coincidence or proof? She made you what you are, you know, whether you like it or not.**

I don't know...

 **Well, news flash, Picasso...you're being hunted down right now. Look ahead of you.**

You're right...I mean, I'm right...

 **Thank you, now, if I was in control right about now, I'd either run away, which would _never_ happen, or kill this Pegasus.**

I told you before...I'm not a killing machine!

 **Listen to yourself! You're a monster, but you don't kill! That, my friend, is what I like to call blasphemy!**

Well, it's not that I don't want to kill...I just don't know how...

 **Here's a tip for you: you see those fangs that are growing in at the moment? Yeah...use those to start!**

But-

 **It's either you or her, you know...**

"What are you doing sneaking around in the middle of the night!?" The Pegasus mare asked me.

I felt my fangs sharpen themselves and the aroma of blood in the air was excruciating. The Pegasus mare attempted to grab my left front hoof, but I ducked out of the way, throwing her off balance. I turned to her quickly, aiming for her neck and sank my teeth into it, drawing out some of her tasty blood.

The Pegasus screamed out in horror, most likely waking up and frightening the disabled that lay imprisoned in this hospital. They could not help this Pegasus but could only listen as the life was being drained from her as she slowly died.

"Precious, precious blood!" I shouted while devouring the blood and flesh of this Pegasus.

Once I was satisfied with myself, I let the body drop to the floor and made my way back to my room. I noticed the body flailing and struggling for air, but unable to move to safety. Moments later, the flailing stopped and she had died. She died at the hands - hooves - of me.

 **Now see? How did that feel?**

It felt pretty damn good!

 **Good boy, Robert. Now wash yourself up. You have some blood stains on your coat. Best wash those off and not alert anyone what you have done just now. Now, you're a full fledged murderer of the ever so lovely night.**

Good call...

I wobbled towards a nearby restroom and proceeded to wash my blood spattered coat clean. It was hard work, washing off red blood stains, but manageable and doable, since the blood was fairly recently put on me. I managed to rid myself of all the blood and de-sharpen my fangs while navigating back to my room for the remainder of the night. My quench for thirst was satisfied, thanks to the gruesome Pegasus that tried to stop me, and I was dreadfully tired. I needed my sleep and I needed it now.

Upon reentering my room, I laid flat on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. The monster within me was satisfied with the killing I just performed, though the sane pony side was dreadfully guilty having just killed an innocent pony just doing their job. I shut up my sane pony self and let the monster take over within me.

Tell me, what else am I able to do?

 **What do you wish to know?**

Well, you seem to know more about me than I do.

 **This is true.**

So please, tell me everything I don't know.

 **If you want to, sure.**

Thank you.

 **Where to begin? Well, for starters, Rarity is the pony who converted you from what you were to what you are now. You have super strength and your speed has increased as well, making you faster than even Rainbow Dash. Umm, let's see...what else is there?**

Can I change forms? Can I take the form of a bat? Bats are common for this type of monster to transform into, you know.

 **I do know that, but that's physically impossible for you to do. Only the head can do that and even then it's a pain in her ass.**

Her?

 **Well, Rarity is the head vamp, in case I never told you.**

That's nice to know, I guess...

 **You're nocturnal. It hurts your skin when you go out into broad daylight and it will slowly eat away at your life! So you need to watch out for yourself because once this life is finished, so are you.**

I'll keep that in mind, thanks for telling me.

 **Anything to keep us both alive for as long as possible. Remember, we are technically immortal since age won't kill us, though the sun will over time.**

Right...and one more thing.

 **What is it?**

If Rarity and I are the same, why does she get to go out into broad daylight and not get hurt?

 **She has a protective invisible coat that protects her from the sun's harmful rays. If you explain to her what you've become, which I don't recommend doing yet due to our current location, she'll most likely teach you how to protect yourself as well. This means that you'll get to keep in contact with all of your friends.**

That sounds good...I'll ask her once we check out of the hospital.

 **Which is what I was going to recommend on the first place.**

Great minds think alike, you know.

 **Well, we are the same mind having a conversation. I'm your monster side talking to your living pony side, which, on a side note, will also be immortalized, unless you go out into the sun for a tremendously extended period of time.**

How long can I stay outside before dying?

 **Beats me...nobody knows the answer to that and nobody wants to find out.**

You say nobody as if there are more. Are there?

 **No. Just you and Rarity.**

I'll hold you to that, you know.

 **And I can promise you, I'll hold you to that as well.**

Suite yourself, my friend. Now if you don't mind, I am going to go to sleep. There isn't much to do here now-

 **Except kill and feed off other ponies, you know.**

I'll pass and just go to sleep. Wanna keep up my strength, you know.

 **Suite yourself...just remember what you are and what you're capable of now.**

It'll be hard not to...

* * *

The next morning, I awoke fairly early and just in time for Rarity's daily visit. She seemed to be in a cheerful mood, which brightened my mood up significantly. Rarity sat down next to me and I looked directly into her beautiful azure colored eyes.

"Hello, Robert!" A pleasant Rarity said.

"Hello, dear." I replied back.

Should I tell her?

 **It's your call if you want t-**

"Robert, darling," cried Rarity, "what happened to your neck?"

"My neck?" I asked, unaware of what exactly she was talking about.

"Dear," continued Rarity, "are those...bite marks?"

"Bite marks?" I questioned.

"Sweetie," Rarity quietly spoke, leaning in towards me, "are you...what I think you are?"

"What do you think I am?" I replied.

"Are you...umm...a vampire?" She squeaked.

I sharpened my fangs so that I didn't have to answer and stunned Rarity. She covered her mouth with her hoof and started sobbing heavily. She reached out and felt my bite marks, ultimately collapsing her head on my chest.

"Oh, Robert *sniff*," Rarity sobbed, "I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to do it..."

"It's okay, Rare," I replied, "you gave me the gift of life, you know."

"But *sniff*, I penetrated your ski-i-in..."

"And you made me immortal." I stated.

Rarity pulled her head up off my chest and slowly began to cease her crying. I stroked her mane ever so elegantly, and whispered to her ever so quietly.

"You gave me the greatest gift of all, sweetie," I whispered, "you gave me an eternity to spend with you."

"*sniff* Do you really mean that, dear?" Rarity replied.

"I meant every word, Rare," I answered.

Rarity smiled through her tears and approached my face. She gave me a kiss on my lips, and I exchanged a kiss upon my lips with a kiss upon her lips. We exchanged a few more loving and passionate kisses before she finally pulled away and fluttered her eyes at me.

"Have you drank anypony's blood yet?" She quietly asked me.

"Well," I chuckled.

I was going to explain myself to Rarity what happened last night, but the doctors outside made that easy for me to explain. Outside in the hallways, one of the female doctors had screamed out that a body has been left massacred on the ground and I glanced over towards Rarity, who was wearing a tiny, evil smirk.

"Did that answer your question?" I asked Rarity.

"Yes, it did most certainly answer it, Robert." Rarity replied, fluttering her eyes at me once more.

"Somepony check her pulse!" Screamed the doctor in the hallway.

"How did it taste?" She continued.

"Warm blood has never tasted any sweeter." I slowly answered.

"Would you like some now?" Rarity asked me.

"Are you okay with it?" I immediately questioned, unsure if I would hurt her.

"I'm perfectly fine with it, sweetie," she told me, "we can't hurt each other, you know."

"I didn't know that, actually," I explained to Rarity.

"And now you do, my handsome, strong stallion." She replied.

"Well, in that case," I started, "would you like some now as well?"

"Are you sure about that?" Rarity playfully asked.

"You know we can't hurt each other." I buoyantly answered.

"Well, in that case..."

We wrapped out heads around each other's necks and we penetrated each other's skin. I could feel my blood being sucked out, which was the same amount as I was sucking out of Rarity. Sucking the blood was a easing moment, seeing as it calmed the monster within me down tremendously. It was a soothing moment in my now immortal life that I wish had lasted a bit longer than it did, but when a knock came on the door, we both pulled away from each other, as Applejack would say, lickety split.

"Uhh...come in!" I called out.

The door opened and soon after, Doctor Whooves came in and wore a displeased look on his face. He stared heavily at me and was closely followed by a few nurses.

"Nyah...what's up, doc?" I asked.

"We know it was you." He answered back.

"What was me, doc?" I asked, trying my best to sound surprised.

"You murdered the Pegasus that's outside on the ground last night!" The doc shot back. "We also know that it was you who has been stealing our blood supplies as well!"

"Don't be so irrational, Doctor Whooves." Rarity replied, though she knew that I was indeed guilty as charged; I just told her after all.

"He's a murderer and a thief!" He shouted. "And we've alerted the authorities about those actions as well!"

I glanced over at Rarity, who gave me a quick wink. I looked back over towards Doctor Whooves, immediately coming up with a plan.

"Hey doc," I began, "could you come here for a sec?"

The fool fell for our plan and, when he was next to me, both Rarity and myself attacked and killed him quickly and quietly. As soon as we finished that, I jumped out of the bed and opened up the window while the other nurses ran to go get some help from a couple of stronger ponies.

"The sun!" I screamed. "It burns!"

"Here, Robert!" cried Rarity. "Let me help!"

Rarity casted the protective spell on my body and the pain instantly subsided. I thanked Rarity quickly and then we both jumped out the window and landed on the ground (in case I failed to explain, my room was on the ground floor). As soon as the nurses and other doctors spotted the massacred Doctor Whooves lying on the ground, we had sprinted out as fast as we could, away from the hospital, away from Ponyville and away from our lives.

We had sprinted rapidly towards the Everfree Forest and decided to stay here for the time being, until things cooled down in Ponyville, that is. We had spotted a desolate cave in the distance and went inside of it. Using my keen senses, I made sure that the cave was clear of all creatures that were inside of it. As soon as I determined that we were alone, I collapsed on the ground, and Rarity laid herself on top of me, which I didn't mind at all.

"What are we going to do, Robert?" Rarity asked me, grasping for some needed air.

"We'll stay put here, for the time being," I replied, "once things in Ponyville are calm and okay, then we'll go back."

"How long do you think that will take?" She asked me.

"I don't know..." I slowly answered back, turning to her in the process. "Are you thirsty, Rarity?" I asked her.

"A little bit, dear..." Rarity coughed.

"Here," I offered, bending my head so that my neck was fully revealed, "go ahead. Take as much as you need."

"Are you sure about this?" She asked me, uncertain if she should proceed.

"I'm as sure as sure gets, sweetie." I replied. "Go on and drink up."

"I'll try to be as gentle as possible, dear." Rarity told me as she began to penetrate my skin and suck out my blood.

I didn't mind this at all. Honestly, this was the least I could do since the only reason we were in this horrid mess was because of me. Had I not been caught red...mouthed back at the hospital, we wouldn't be hiding inside a cave.

 **Calm down, Robert. You're in this together with Rarity. If you go down, she'll go down with you.**

But now the town is going to know our secret.

 **Are they really? You murdered the only one who managed to put two and two together, you know.**

How do you know someone else won't be able to do the same?

 **How do you know you'll be able to return back to Ponyville?**

Touché, my friend. Touché.

 **Plus you have her little sister Sweetie Belle back home in Ponyville as well. How will she manage to survive without a big sister?**

I don't want to talk about that right now. I want to know whether or not it's safe to go home now.

 **You and I both know that it won't be safe for a while...unless you get Twilight to help you guys out.**

No...I don't want to bring Twilight into this mess.

 **Why not?**

I put us into this mess, and I'll be the one who takes us out of it as well.

 **Your funeral, immortal dude.**

"Thank you, Robert." Rarity said after she finished drinking my blood.

"No problem, dear." I replied.

Rarity was still positioned on top of me while I laid down on the floor of the cave. I hadn't minded this at all. Truth be told, I wanted to keep Rarity's beautiful fur and coat clean and perfect. I didn't mind mine since dirt and dust don't show themselves as obviously on my body as it would on Rarity's coat.

 **You sure are the gentleman, Robert, letting your girl lay on top of you to keep her clean.**

I do my best to keep my girls happy and clean, you know. After all, you are a part of me.

 **Don't remind me...**

"Robert, dear," Rarity said, filling a silent void, "are you thirsty at all?"

"A little bit," I replied, "but I'll get over it."

"Are you sure you don't want any of mine?" She asked me.

"Not now, my love," I answered, "right now, we need to figure out how we're going to live out here."

 **Nice word choice, Casanova. If you want to know how to live out in these parts, the only other thing that can he-**

"Perhaps Zecora could provide us with some help." Rarity suggested.

"Who's that?" I immediately questioned.

 **Zecora is-**

"Zecora is a zebra who lives out in these parts." answered Rarity. "She understands slightly what it means to be run out of town, so why don't we ask her for some assistance?"

 **She's asking you, you know.**

Well, no shit, Sherlock!

 **Hey...no need to be snippy. I'm just saying that since she was the one giving you the answers I was about to give.**

"What do you think, dear?" She continued. "Do you think we should ask Zecora for some help?"

"It's not like we have much of a choice here..." I slowly answered. "The way I see it, we have two rational options: we could either ask her for help or we could sit in this cave and starve to death."

"Which wouldn't necessarily happen since we are immortalized, dear." Rarity said, kissing the top of my head.

 **Do you seriously forget that you're immortal sometimes?**

Honestly, I do.

 **Why's that?**

Well, for one thing, I died before I came here, you know.

 **Right.**

"Let's go visit Zecora then, sweetie." I told Rarity, looking up to give her a kiss on her lips.

"Let's go, dear." She replied before we left the cave together.

Darkness had fallen across the land and I figured that the midnight hour was close at hand. On the ground, creatures were crawling in search for something, and these creatures looked like the ones who would terrorize nearby neighborhoods. A cockatrice roamed about nearby, so Rarity and myself made no direct eye contact at it. We didn't want to get turned to stone here, you know. As Discord once said, stone suits aren't really...stylish. Plus, they looked terribly uncomfortable, although I wasn't one to judge based on looks alone.

"Where do you suppose her home is located?" I asked Rarity.

"I saw we passed it on the way here," she answered, "so we'll just retrace our steps and find her home in no time at all."

"I love how smart you are, dear," I said, giving her a kiss upon her cheek.

"And I love how strong and robust you are, sweetie," replied Rarity, also giving me a kiss on my cheek.

I blushed a bit and rubbed the back of my neck with my hoof, managing to find my bite marks on my neck as well. The marks felt unusual, but I knew how and why they appeared there and was not disappointed or angry in any way imaginable. I smiled back at Rarity as we began to travel back to where we once came from with the hopes of searching and finding Zecora's home for some assistance.

While walking, some tense silence filled the air and all we could hear was the creatures bickering in the night, draining out the sound of our hooves clacking on the ground. Rarity turned her head slightly and began telling me something.

"Do you like it?" She asked.

"Like what?" I replied.

"Do you like being a vampire?" She described.

"Besides from the running-out-of-town part," I stated, "I love it very, very much."

"How about me?" Rarity continued. "How did my blood taste?"

"Your blood tasted very sweet, my dear," I said, "just like you."

"Oh, you are such a gentle monster!" Rarity told me, turning around and kissing me on my lips.

"Now tell me," I spoke, "how did my blood taste?"

"Your blood tasted magnificent and also sweet," she said, "much like yourself."

"You, Rarity, are such a beautiful queen." I quietly replied, kissing her on the lips.

"If I'm your queen," Rarity stated, "then I want you to be my king."

"I will be, dear." I smiled in response.

Rarity smiled brightly at the answer as we continued walking and meandering through the forest. Some time later, we had spotted a small light in the distance and approached it. Rarity sounded cheerful in her assumption, claiming that it was Zecora's home, although I wasn't on board just yet. When we finally were near the peculiar structure, that's when Rarity turned to me again.

"There's her home, dear," Rarity stated.

"It looks...interesting..." I lied.

 **Nice lie, Robert. You made it sound _REAL_ convincing. That's sarcasm, if you couldn't tell, by the way!**

Shut up. I'm not one for rude comments, you know...

 **Clearly...**

"Don't worry about lying, Robert," Rarity told me, "I wasn't too fond of this place either the first time I saw it."

"You can read me like a book," I replied, "can you?"

"To much extent, yes I can."

I don't know whether I should be alarmed, frightened, or appreciative. Are any of those something I should be definitely feeling?

 **Try relieved, buddy. After all, you did escape from certain containment and protected yourself along with Rarity from certain doom. Any of those other three words is something you should probably feel later.**

Relieved, eh?

 **Canadian, eh?**

Shut up! For your information, I __did__ live near the Canadian-U.S. boarder, you know.

 **Did it sound like I was judging you?**

Sounded a lot like that, to be honest.

 **Cool your jets, kid. It was simply a joke.**

Funny. Very, very funny.

 **Focus kid. You're here for something more important than internal bickering.**

Right.

"Shall we, then?" Rarity asked.

"After you, Rarity." I answered.

"Such a gentleman!" Rarity responded. "I made the right choice accidentally biting you."

"The "right choice" accidentally biting me?" I questioned, placing a lot of emphasis on "right" and "choice."

"Sleeping unicorns do still make choices, even when we're deep in our sleep." Rarity explained. "Did you not know that?"

"Uh, no." I said. "Not at all."

"Now you do, dear."

"But, wait," I protested, "are you saying that you dreamt about turning me into this?"

"If we're being honest with each other," started Rarity, "I did..."

I looked at her, emotionless. I played for a great actor, not meaning to toot my own horn or anything. I absolutely loved the fact that Rarity immortalized me since it meant that I could be with her forever, which could theoretically go either way, but letting my face show absolutely no emotion made Rarity tense up a bit.

"Please don't be mad at me..." she pleaded.

"How can I possibly be mad at the unicorn I love?" I replied, sealing my words with a kiss upon her lips.

"So...promise you're not mad?" She quietly replied.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." I said, reciting Pinkie Pie's promise.

"You're the best, Robert," Rarity spoke, "you know that?"

"I can't be the best," I replied, "that would mean I'd be ahead of you, which is simply unacceptable with me. You, my dear, are the best."

Rarity giggled and blushed in the process and I took the time to lean in and offer her a more romantic kiss. I closed my eyes slowly and wrapped one of my front hooves around her neck and kissed her repeatedly, of which she did the same, except for the closed eyes part. That was something I couldn't tell with my eyes being shut.

The sparks flew as we exchanged meaningful and emotional kisses. I absolutely loved the emotion we shared with each other. The emotion. The happiness. The time spent together. The looks. Her appearance. Our hobbies. Our nightly jobs (now, at least).

Our love...

 **Way to go, Robert. Physically here for less than a month, and you nailed one of the most beautiful unicorns in Equestria. Granted, it took you a little over a few years, but the wait paid off. Also, granted, if Spike found out, he would try to do everything he can to either kill you or break you two lovebirds up. However, all negativity put aside, I'm proud of you. You sure have crafted yourself a perfectly better life here.**

The feels...why can't I hold them all?

"Mhm...I think it's best we get help now, don't you think, Robert?" Rarity asked, fluttering her eyes at me.

 **Those eye flutters...that must be her way of getting what she wants...**

Fine by me. If it meant my woman would be happy, fuck it (pardon the language).

 **Must you apologize each time you say a cuss word? We all know that those who see this are just as sane and normal as you...well, maybe not as sane and as normal as you are, but you get the idea here.**

Not sure if you're insulting me, or complimenting me.

 **That's left open for discussion. Now get the help you two need! I want to go home already!**

Cool your jets, pushy...

 **Just make it quick!**

Fine...

"Let's go, Rarity." I answered.

Rarity smiled at me as we approached the front door of Zecora's home...I think. It was a circular tree so...circles don't necessarily have a front side...right? Either way, Rarity led the way while I loomed behind her, glancing at the peculiar way her home was decorated externally. I heard Rarity knock on the door gently, though I still gazed around at the decorations.

"Hello, Miss Rarity, what a sight. What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"Good evening, Zecora." Rarity replied. "We're here to see if you can help us out with a problem we're having."

I looked away from the decorations and glanced at the figure in front of Rarity. I had seen the show with my little sister Ariana before, so I don't quite understand why I was so shocked to see that Zecora was a zebra...

 **You're a dumbass, Robert. You really don't remember anything, don't you?**

Hey, now!

"And who is this we have here?" Zecora replied. "Do you come from far or near?"

"If you're asking me if I moved from a faraway place," I started, "you could say that, I guess."

"We'll save the introductions for later," Rarity butted in, "but now, we need your help, Zecora."

"What seems to be troubling you?" She asked. "Perhaps there is something I can do."

"Well, Zecora," Rarity continued, "we...umm..."

"Uh...w-we were kind of run out of town, Zecora," I helped explain.

"And we're being hunted for..."

"For reasons unknown." I finished.

Rarity seemed to be having a hard time either explaining our circumstances or coming up with a good bullshit story (sound familiar?). Let's be honest for a second: coming up with a good, detailed lie on the spot is tough. I tried my best helping her "explain" our story.

"We were wondering if..." Rarity started.

"You could help us out..." I finished.

"How can I help you out?" Zecora continued. "I'll be sure to help without a doubt!"

"Well," Rarity said, "could you help us diffuse the situation back in Ponyville or possibly something else?"

I looked at Rarity and knew what she meant when she said "something else." I could read her expression like she could read me. What she meant by that was, "could you possibly help provide some hospitality" or "could you help protect us?"

"I'll gladly help you," Zecora obliged, "because I know that you tell the words that are true."

"Thank you so much, Zecora!" I smiled brightly.

"You have no idea how much this means to us." added Rarity.

"I have a good feeling I do," Zecora responded, exiting her home, locking the door behind her and leading the way back towards town, "now let's go make us some relationships that are new."

"Gladly." Rarity smiled, kissing my cheek as we followed Zecora back to town.

* * *

"There they are!" Somebody shouted.

"There are the monsters!" Someone else added.

"And they're with Zecora!" A third individual observed.

Rarity and myself had trotted back into Ponyville, accompanied by Zecora. Rarity and myself had held our heads high up in the air, pretending as if we were as sincere and true as the next pony in line, though we both knew that the townsponies were completely right with their observations and opinions of us.

"Back away from them, Zecora," the first pony shouted, "they're monsters!"

"Beg pardon," I butted in, "but do we really look like monsters?"

"I'll have to agree with Robert, Bon Bon," Rarity stated, though, like I keep saying, we both knew we were monsters.

"As would I," stated Zecora, "that you call them monsters, I call that a lie."

"It's true Zecora!" Bon Bon shouted.

"It was proven that those two killed Doctor Whooves!" Pony number 2 added.

"If these two had done the act," continued Zecora, "then they most certainly wouldn't be so in tact!"

"You're in denial, Zecora!" Bon Bon shouted.

From the corner of my eye, I witnessed both Twilight and Lunar step up in front of the crowd.

"What's going on here, everypony?" The Princess asked.

"These two ponies have murdered Doctor Whooves!" Pony number two stated.

"These two, Lyra?" Lunar asked, awkwardly pointing towards myself and Rarity.

"Yes!" Shouted Lyra.

Twilight laughed uncontrollably, "These two wouldn't harm a fly! What makes you think that they would kill another pony?"

"We've seen the damage they've done, Princess Twilight!" Bon Bon protested.

"Twilight, do you think two of the Element holders would deliberately kill someone else?" I defended.

"Not at all," she answered, "but why would they think that?"

"That's what we're trying to find out, darling," answered Rarity.

Thank god we were great friends with royalty because if we weren't, let's just say that we'd be...well, fucked!

"Everypony, relax!" Twilight shouted. "As your Princess, please return to your homes! I'll see what exactly happened and properly assess who is responsible."

Mumbles and grunts about Twilight's decision were sounding in the air while everyone dispatched and return to their homes. Meanwhile, Twilight and Lunar proceeded to step right up to us and confront us all.

"Thank you for bringing these two back, safe and sound, Zecora," Twilight thanked, "I'll take care of them both from here."

"Not a problem, Twilight," Zecora replied, starting her progress back home, "it was quite a delight."

Twilight and Lunar waited a few more moments, watching both Rarity and myself thank Zecora as she left the town. Once we were finally left alone, they turned around and blankly told us to follow her. Confused, I quickly asked her if anything was wrong.

"Just follow us," Lunar emotionlessly spoke, "no more questions."

"But-"

"No. More. Questions." Repeated Twilight.

I looked over towards Rarity while we closely followed Twilight while Lunar followed us from behind. I leaned in and quickly whispered something towards Rarity.

"What's their deal, right?" I stated.

"No talking!" Lunar ordered, obviously angry with us both.

Rarity gave off a squeamish smile, as if she knew what was wrong and why Twilight and Lunar were acting like this. I stood up normally once more and noticed that we were quickly approaching Twilight's home.

The distance traveled was little, thus making the trip extremely short. However, I thought about what I had done to the doc...if anyone was the one to blame, it was me. I should be the only one who should pay for what has happened, not Rarity or anyone else.

If anyone deserved to die, it was me...

"Robert," Twilight called, "if you would..."

I shook my head vigorously and saw that we were standing before Twilight's front door. Twilight motioned for me to step inside, so I did, as did Rarity, then Lunar, before she had shut the door.

"What's the matter, Twilight?" I asked. "Why so tense?"

"I want to know why you did it, Rarity?" Twilight replied.

"You know?" I asked, hinting at a lot of shock in my voice.

"That is a secret you keep from none of your friends." Lunar bluntly told me.

"I see..."

"Now tell me, Rarity," continued Twilight, "why did you do it?"

Rarity remained silent. Instead, she glanced over at me, expecting me to help defend her. But how would Twilight react if I told her that I did it?

"Well?" An impatient Twilight retorted.

"She...didn't do it, Twilight." I stated. "I did."

"Wait...you mean?"

"Yes..." I assured.

"But," Twilight started, "how did?"

"I bit him in my sleep and made him one..." Rarity answered.

"You mean?"

"Yup." I answered.

"And that there are..."

"Two of us now." Rarity finished.

"So it was?"

"It was I who did what everyone is blaming me for..." I stated.

"Did you tell him where to get some blood, Rarity?" Twilight asked.

"No..." Rarity meekly replied.

"Well then," Twilight continued, turning to face me, "this is your one and only warning. But, you can get blood from me."

"What?" I asked, unsure if I heard what I just heard.

Twilight motioned her mane away from her neck, showing me a couple of bite marks.

"Bite marks?" I asked. "But, that can only mean..."

"Being an immortal does have its benefits, you know," stated Twilight. "Doesn't it, Lunar?"

"One can only hope so," smiled Lunar.

"You see, dear," Rarity stated, turning to face me, "when I first showed Twilight what I have become, she allowed me to suck out some of her blood so that she could clone it and create an endless supply of it. That's where I get my supply from and now that's where you'll get your supply from."

"How long ago was that?" I questioned.

"It had to have been about four or five years ago, right Rarity?" Twilight said.

"That sounds about right." Rarity agreed.

"But then why are the teeth marks still present?" I asked.

"Those are a part of her forever," Rarity told me, "just like your's are and mine."

I ran a hoof down my neck again and felt the two tiny holes in my body. I didn't mind the fact that they were a part of me now, but to know that they remain on the victim forever was astonishing, to say the least...

 **Robert, buddy, you have a lot to learn about vampire ponies and whatnot.**

Shut up...

Twilight then stood next to Lunar, opposite from us, and then proceeded to explain to us about the dangers of being vampire ponies and the consequences that were to happen, should either of us step out of line. It was a long explanation from the both of them and, honestly, it was the first time that Lunar hadn't spoken to me in a sarcastic tone in a very long time. Finally, the explanations had come to an end as Twilight and Lunar stared at us both for some time.

"So have we made ourselves clear to you two vampires?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, Twilight," I said emotionlessly.

"You have our word, Twilight, that this will never happen again." Rarity added.

"See that it doesn't," continued Twilight, "because the last thing I need is Princess Celestia breathing down my neck for failing to protect my subjects. Granted, I am the newest Princess and Lunar is the newest Prince and we are still learning new things as we go along, but protection is something that shouldn't have to be taught to anypony."

"I apologize for my actions, Twilight," I stated, revealing tones of disappointment in my voice.

"It's okay, Robert," Twilight replied, "like I told you before, accidents happen. Just see that this type of accident doesn't happen again."

"I'll do my absolute best, Twilight." I assured her.

"And see that he stays true to his word, Rarity," Lunar told her, "after all, you are the head vampire and now have a...companion."

"I'll make sure he stays in line, Lunar," Rarity said, looking at me, "after all, he is my responsibility since he is mine now."

I gave off an interesting chuckle, deciding to extend this playful nature a bit.

"What is it you request, Queen Rarity?" I playfully asked.

"'Queen Rarity'?" Twilight questioned.

"The head vampire, seeing how she is a phenomenal, sophisticated lady, is called Queen by her subjects," I stated, "much like your subjects call you Princess, Princess."

"You are so lucky you aren't small anymore," Twilight told me, "because I still don't like the fact that I'm called Princess just yet..."

Lunar chuckled at the responses given by both Twilight and myself, telling me that I did have a very direct point.

"Either way," Rarity butted in, "your Queen requests something meaningful, if you know what I mean."

"Is this what you meant?" I asked, kissing Rarity on her cheek.

Twilight and Lunar were both in utter shock, almost like they've seen a ghost or something.

"Did you just...?" Lunar asked, trailing off towards the end.

"Guess you haven't told them yet, have you?" I asked Rarity.

"Not yet," Rarity answered, "but now seems like a good time to do so. And that is what I meant, Robert. Your Queen is very satisfied."

"Tell us what?" Twilight requested to know.

This seemed to be driving them nuts, not knowing what we were talking about. I really wanted to toy with their feelings about this, but we were already in enough hot water as it is and the last thing I need is someone of royalty being pissed off even more at me. Ultimately, I chose to be perfectly direct with Twilight and Lunar and tell them both about Rarity and myself.

"Rarity and I are...umm...well..."

The words that had to be chosen to fixate that previous sentence was so fucking hard...words...trillions and trillions of words in the world, but the ones I need aren't coming to mind! The fuck is this bullshit!?

"Are you two?" Twilight started, but stopping since she put two and two together.

"It is what you think it is, Twilight." Rarity said.

"Then let me be the first to congratulate the both of you!" Twilight praised.

"And I will be the second!" Lunar added, patting me on the back, mouthing "good job" to me.

"Thank you, Twilight," I kindly replied, "and you as well, Lunar. I'm sure my lovely Queen also appreciates your comments."

"Oh, Robert," Rarity told me, offering me a kiss on my cheek.

"You two lovebirds best be headed home now," Twilight suggested, "before Spike sees you two."

"Thanks again for helping us out, you two." I thanked as I opened the door for Rarity and myself.

"Just don't go running off biting anypony else, okay?" warned Twilight.

"We gave you our word we wouldn't and we won't, Twi." I retorted.

"Just want to be sure." Twilight replied. "Anyway, I'll see you two tomorrow!"

"Goodnight guys." Lunar added.

"Goodnight, you two," both Rarity and myself said as we headed on back towards the Carousel Boutique.

"Rarity," I started, trying to fill in some silence.

"What is it, my king?" Rarity replied.

I liked the way she said that. It made me feel like a somebody here now. I smiled brightly before I asked Rarity what it was that I wanted to ask her.

"Is your little sister the same as you?" I asked.

"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity responded.

"Yes," I answered, "is she a vampire like we are?"

"Not at all." Rarity told me.

"How's that possible then?" I replied.

"What do you mean, dear?"

"How are you a vampire, but not Sweetie Belle?"

"It's a virus I was born with as a young filly." Rarity explained. "My mother's mother's father was a vampire and he had the same lifestyle we currently have."

"What happened to him?" I curiously said.

"He died from being out in the sun too long," she continued.

Ouch...right in the gut...

"I'm sorry to hear that, dear." I stated.

"Don't be," Rarity quickly answered back, "he was a bit of a cold-hearted spirit, infecting and killing everypony he every lay his eyes on."

"That, uh...that seems interesting...I think..." I spoke.

"To a certain extent." Rarity somewhat agreed.

"So does Sweetie Belle know that you're a vampire?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from what was just spoken.

"She most certainly does, which is good for me." Rarity answered.

Okay, so that's one less pony to tell my condition to...I guess...

We had arrived back at the Carousel Boutique shortly afterwards and had made our way inside. I was incredibly tired, so I asked Rarity if it was alright if I went to sleep for the night.

"But, of course it is dear." She replied, leading me to her bed.

"Really?" I asked sheepishly.

"If you don't mind," Rarity innocently replied.

I smiled some more as Rarity allowed me to lay down on the bed first. Happy, she squeezed in next to me on the bed, pressing up against my body and cuddling with me. I turned my head so that it was now facing her head and proceeded to ask her a question.

"Are you thirsty, my Queen?" I asked.

I loved the fact that I got to say that - Queen, that is. If there was anyone I'd have as a ruler ruling over anyone else, it would be Miss Rarity. Her beauty, her sophistication, her integrity, her optimism, her generosity...

I loved everything about Rarity and loved the fact that she was mine...

I never felt this way about anybody before and I never felt this sure that this is who I was meant to be with. Rarity and I...me and Rarity...Queen Rarity and Robert the vampires...

"I am, actually," replied Rarity, "how about you?"

"So am I, my Queen." I answered.

"So let us quench each other's thirst, Robert, dear." Rarity stated.

We then wrapped our heads around each other's necks and began sucking out each other's blood, which, strange as this sounds, was a bit more romantic than you think it was.

"I love you, Rarity." I said before sucking out some more blood.

"I love you, too, Robert." Rarity added before performing the same action I was performing.

Two vampire ponies in love, expressing their love by exchanging each other's blood with each other. My blood inside Rarity's gorgeous body and Rarity's precious blood inside my body. I love you Rarity, more than anything else in this world...

 **She loves you too, Robert.**

* * *

I awoke the next morning feeling much better and well rested, something I haven't felt in a long, long time. I looked around, halting my motions and laying my eyes upon the beautiful, sleeping unicorn, body pressed up against mine. Moments later, I saw her open her eyes, fluttering them in an attempt to focus her vision. She looked up at me, smiling brightly, and seemingly very, very happy.

"Good morning, my strong, handsome King!" Rarity cheerfully spoke.

"Good morning, my lovely, beautiful Queen!" I replied with as much cheer sounding in my voice.

"Last night..." continued Rarity, "was absolutely fantastic, my love!"

"And there's more where that came from down the road ahead, sweetie." I added.

I had gotten out of bed slowly and gently, trying my best not to disturb Rarity's serenity and immediately rearranged my mane using my magic. Somehow, it always seems to find a way to get itself messy each and every night. How someone like Rarity or Twilight kept their mane in tact while they tossed and turned during the night is a mystery that I won't find out any time soon.

Rarity soon followed me out of the bed and positioned herself next to where I was standing. We looked into the mirror together as she leaned against my side, fluttering her beautiful, azure colored eyes at me. Her fangs dropped down, changing her eye color from a cool, collective blue, to a fiery and passionate red. I did the same, dropping my fangs as well, and that also changed my eye color from a warm, sparkling emerald green color to the same fiery and passionate red Rarity had. We smiled at each other, facing away from the mirror to get a glimpse of each other in reality. I was planning to kiss Rarity and make out with her this very moment, though that plan was shot down when I saw Sweetie Belle enter the room. Acting quickly, I retracted my fangs, going back to normal for the time being.

"Morning, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle shouted.

"Good morning, Sweetie Belle," Rarity replied, bringing in her fangs and changing back to normal, so to speak.

"Hello, there!" Sweetie Belle told me, as if she knew me, trying to play that off well.

"Oh, Sweetie Belle," continued Rarity, noticing that this was the first time we saw each other, "this is Robert."

"Hello, Sweetie Belle," I kindly spoke, "it's a pleasure finally meeting you."

"You see, Sweetie Belle," Rarity said, "Robert was staying with us a while ago and I accidentally bit him in our sleep, making him a vampire like me. Sparks flew and...well...let's just say that you'll be seeing him a lot more now."

"How come he gets to be a vampire and I don't?" Sweetie Belle protested, obviously hurt from not being able to be one herself.

"Because I can never do something like that to you." Rarity defended herself. "You can ask Robert himself...I accidentally bit him and his transformation sent him into the hospital and other places."

"Other places?" Sweetie Belle repeated.

"You'll understand when you're older, Sweetie Belle," Rarity said, smiling and fluttering her eyes at me once more.

Those eyes...those beautiful, fluttery eyes of hers...more addictive than crystal meth and more powerful than a Ferrari's engine...

Sweetie Belle looked at the two of us as we began to rub our snouts and muzzles together - something some people refer to as Eskimo kissing. She giggled a bit, claiming that we look weird doing that but, she was a little filly after all; she did not understand what it meant to truly be in love quite just yet.

"I'll leave you two. Alone. Together. Alone. Nothing else." Sweetie Belle playfully said while backing herself out of the door.

"And now that she's gone," I slowly said, turning towards Rarity, "we can proceed with the morning pleasures."

"Oh, Robert," Rarity romantically giggled.

I chuckled back at Rarity and leaned my head in towards Rarity's head and we proceeded to exchange meaningful and love-filled kisses with each other.

Again, sparks flew and I wish the time could just stop so that I could enjoy this moment forever...but, life likes to play cruel jokes on me, as you know...

"Good morning, lovebirds!" A playful Twilight beckoned.

Immediately, both Rarity and myself pulled away from each other and humbly looked at Twilight, who had caught us both off guard.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Twilight teased.

"No, not at all," replied Rarity.

"I was," Twilight continued, "I know what you were doing. I saw it and Sweetie Belle told me what you were doing."

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity scolded.

You could hear Sweetie Belle giggle loudly in the background, which I couldn't help but smile at the adorable giggling of a young child. I calmed Rarity down before she did something she would regret.

"Calm down, sweetie," I said, "it's okay."

"She shouldn't have watched us...do...that..." Rarity tried protesting, though she was getting caught being tangled up I her words.

"It's okay, Rarity," Twilight spoke, "you can say it in front of me. I don't mind it. You guys were kissing. You see Lunar and I do it from time to time."

"At least somepony understands." Rarity responded.

I smiled. "Plus, she's going to learn about all that stuff eventually, so what's there to fret about?"

"I...I just don't want her to learn about that now..." Rarity told me. "If Ariana were here and saw us, you'd understand, right?"

"You're right..." I humbly replied. "I would understand..."

"Hate to break the meaningful conversation you two love birds are having," Twilight butted in, "but everypony else is waiting outside to hear what Robert has to say."

"What do I have to say?" I asked, confused.

"They know that Rarity is one," Twilight answered, "now they have to know that you're one as well."

"Do I best show them, explain myself to them, or both?" I asked again.

"It would probably be better to do both, Robert," Twilight told me, "Rarity did, so it only seems right that you do both as well."

Then that's settled then...I'll show and tell them my new self.

"Come along now, Robert," Twilight said, "everypony is waiting."

"Can you help me explain to them, Rarity?" I asked. "It seems better if you explain how I became one and I show them."

"Anything for you, my strong stallion," replied Rarity.

"You're the best, my beautiful Queen," I responded, giving Rarity a little kiss on her cheek before heading on outside to explain myself to everyone.

Boy, this is sure going to feel awkward showing and telling them all what happened...

 **You can say that again...**

Shut up and mind your business.

 **HA! Mind your own business, that's a good one! Kid, I AM your business if I'm the monster inside of you!**

Just...just shut up!

 **Whatever.**

The walk towards the outside was painful, seeing how I was being forced to reveal myself to a group of ponies who I was still trying to gain their trust and acceptance of me. Would I still be viewed the same as I am now...or is it just about to spiral out of control now?

 **Dude, just shut up and confess. I'm more than certain that they will still like you for being yourself.**

But what if they don't?

 **They will, trust me.**

Are you sure?

 **Is the sky blue?**

Not all the time.

 **You know what I mean. Here, how about this one: is air invisible?**

Are you even trying anymore?

 **Not in the slightest.**

Figured as much...

 **It is your head, mind you.**

Must you point out my flaws all the time?

 **It makes me smile, so yes.**

Ugh...

We had stepped hoof outside shortly afterwards and sure enough, everyone was standing beyond the doorway. Twilight smiled at everyone, then turned and faced me.

"Robert," she started, "I believe you have something to say. Would you like to say it?"

Instead of saying anything, I allowed my fangs to extend themselves and I showed them to everyone else, receiving mixed results. The more notable result was Rainbow Dash's calling it awesome, other than that, the only negative result I got was Fluttershy's quivering.

"What happened to ya?" Applejack questioned.

"You see..." I began, but stalled since I couldn't find the right words to explain myself correctly.

"...I may have bitten him in my sleep by accident." completed Rarity.

"May have bitten him?" Rainbow Dash retorted.

"May have bitten, did bite, what's the difference, Rainbow?" Rarity asked. "What's important now is that now he is a vampire and needs blood to survive like me."

"And what's also important is that you're mine and I'm yours." I quietly whispered to Rarity, receiving a smile in return.

"You are so lucky, Robert!" Rainbow Dash protested.

"I know that." I replied, knowing exactly that Rainbow was talking about my condition while I was talking about Rarity.

"But you get to go around all night, sucking out innocent ponies' blood, biting ponies in the neck...that is awesomely awesome!" Rainbow Dash continued.

"Now, now, Rainbow Dash," Twilight called, "just because these two are vampires doesn't mean that they can just go around Ponyville or Equestria and infect anypony they want, you know. They may have an advantage in battle, but they have agreed to only suck out each other's blood or drink the blood I make for them."

"Sounds more like being a killjoy, Twi," Rainbow quietly said.

"It's what they promised and I'll make sure they stick to it." Twilight replied, motioning her head towards me as if saying that I'll have to be the one they worry about more.

I let that little display slide, paying more attention towards Rarity. My beautiful, stunning Queen's coat was glistening in this shining light, making it look as if it had cost a million bits to craft it in that way. I loved the way Rarity looked, the way she loved, the way she pretty much did everything to and for me. She was a splitting image of perfection, and I'm head over heels to know that she is mine and I am hers.

"Either way," continued Twilight, "they are more civilized monsters than I've seen before."

"We're the only ones you've seen before," I stated.

"Not true," Applejack added, "Discord was one heck of a monster."

"Granted, you've proven your point," I replied, "but we're the only vampires you've ever seen. That sound about right?"

"Now when you put it like that," Twilight laughed, "then that statement is true."

"I figured as much." I responded, glancing over towards Rarity.

She looked back at me and, by looking into my eyes, she could tell that I wanted to exchange more love and affection towards each other this current moment. However, me looking into her eyes, I could tell that she wanted to do the same, but her eyes also told me to wait and do it once we were alone. I didn't blame her, not a single bit. I didn't want them to know about our love towards each other quite just yet either.

"Well," Twilight fixated, breaking some silence and dragging everyone's attention way from Rarity and myself, "it's still morning. What do you say we go out and have a nice, refreshing breakfast?"

"That sounds wonderful, Twilight," I heard Rarity say.

My focus was on Rarity, though I did manage to hear everyone else agree to that idea as well. Twilight smiled, then began taking us to one of the nearby restaurants for a nice, relaxing breakfast. Rarity and I both knew our limitations on what we could and couldn't eat or drink, so this was going to prove to be an interesting meal for that reason, and for the reason that this would be my first thing I had besides blood since the transformation.

The walk there, as usual, wasn't too long, like I keep saying, since full length distances were never shown (and probably won't be shown) on the show itself. The waiter had seated us all at a larger table and handed out eight menus using his magic. I opened up my menu using my magic and noticed that everything was in this sort of blocky-type text. Putting this in perspective, it was as if someone had scribbled something across the surface in a hurry. Either way, I could not read it and, since Rarity and I are so much alike (I'd like to think so anyway), I figured that I'll have what she's going to have.

 **Robert, buddy...**

What?

 **This is going to be a long, semi-painful breakfast for you, you know.**

Don't remind me...

 **Hey, I'm just being realistic here. How do you plan on getting through this in one piece, so to say?**

Hey, I am a great bullshitter and actor, so I'm more than sure I can make myself seem like I am enjoying whatever I have with ease.

 **Betcha 100 bits that that won't happen.**

You're on!

* * *

The breakfast Rarity and myself had along with the rest of our friends was astonishingly well prepared and delicious! I was surprised by how it looked - a tuna sandwich topped by a flower that looked like a daisy - and especially by how it tasted - possibly the best sandwich that I've ever had!

After our breakfast, we all headed toward the park for some nice downtime. Today was nice, refreshing and the weather was similar in almost every single way. It wasn't too hot, which was a shocker for me and my new body type, and it wasn't too cold, which also was a shocker. I had figured that, you know, since my blood is as cold as the night itself, that hot weather or even warm weather, for that matter, would call for an unhappy and uncomfortable Robert. Quite the contrary...for now, at least...

The Ponyville Park was located right next to the restaurant we had dined at. We proceeded into the park, onto the green grass, and under the shade and protection of a nearby tree. The thing about being a unicorn is that it is really awesome. This is probably the part where you're asking yourselves, "Robert, why is it so awesome being a unicorn? What's so great about being a unicorn?" Well allow me to explain.

Unicorns are awesome because some - and by some I mean pretty much the royal ponies, myself, and Rarity – of us can magically spawn up pretty much anything. Twilight made that statement seem like anyone can do it by magically spawning a blanket and setting it down on the ground for us. Twilight set herself down on one of the corners of the blanket, Pinkie Pie setting herself down next to her. Rainbow Dash chose not to set herself down, claiming that it would make her lose her adrenaline. To what, that remains a mystery to me. Applejack set herself down on another corner of the blanket, whereas Rarity and myself sat next to each other on the third corner of the blanket. Fluttershy settled for the fourth and final corner of the blanket, which was the only corner that was covered by the shade from the tree.

Fluttershy's ability to befriend pretty much any little critter that she is near was amazing since her area was swarming with critters within seconds. The rest of a didn't mind the critters, nor did they mind the affection Rarity and myself were exchanging between each other. The affection wasn't much - just the casual head-on-shoulder thing, nothing special - and the critters were nice and friendly with us.

I had begun to daze out, paying all my attention towards my lovely Queen, since the conversation was dull, to me at least. While I was tuned in, Twilight was explaining what she had done with Lunar when she arrived back in Ponyville while the rest did the same. Tuning out, I never turned away from whoever was talking, but I stared behind them and admired the colorful and beautiful scenery around us. The colorful fall weather and scenery was simply spectacular, and I had admired every bit of it.

Oddly, the conversation had steered its way from what everyone had done since arriving back in Ponyville to the annual Running of the Leaves, which was scheduled to happen tomorrow. I myself have personally signed myself up to take part in the run as well as race against Rainbow Dash and Applejack to see who was faster. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I do most certainly believe that nobody is faster than I am. Maybe Rarity, but I've never actually seen her sprint in an event before or at all even (for fun, I mean, not for survival like before).

I stayed quiet during that section of the conversation because only Rarity knew that I was competing in tomorrow's run, nobody else. Rainbow Dash was showboating and bragging at how she was too awesome to lose to someone like Applejack, and Applejack was standing her ground and defending herself against the slanders Rainbow Dash was saying about her. Twilight couldn't help but smile and giggle, while Rarity whispered to me that she knows that I'll win, hooves down. Pinkie Pie defended Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy tried defending both ponies. I shook my head in a friendly matter and simply smirked.

Rainbow bragging - typical.

Applejack defending herself and indirectly bragging - typical.

Fluttershy defending both ponies - typical.

Twilight smiling and giggling at her friends' misunderstanding - typical.

Pinkie Pie defending Rainbow Dash - believable (side note, I have read a bit of Pinkie Dash back home and do believe that that shipping makes the most sense, but that's my opinion).

Rarity not taking part in this quarrel - understandable.

 **Robert, you seem to be sure of yourself that you'll win tomorrow's event, though you've never competed in a race before, nor have you raced Rainbow Dash or Applejack before. How can you be so confident in yourself?**

Confidence is key. The more confidence someone has going into an event, the better they'll do, statistically speaking. Plus, I'm a vampire and boosted speed is what I got from the transformation. I highly doubt anyone could keep up with this sleek unicorn!

 **Wanna make a bet?**

Anywhere, anytime.

 **Good job using Applebloom's words in exactly the same tone, but that won't help you.**

What's your wager?

 **I bet you all the bits I have that you won't finish in first at tomorrow's race.**

Pfft! You're on, buddy! This is going to be an easy win for me!

 **Don't be so sure of yourself! Don't underestimate Rainbow Dash's speed or Applejack's speed. They may give you a run for your money!**

No offense to either of them, but they won't be able to keep up with my strong hooves, sleek, aerodynamic body, or increased speed at all. In fact, I'll have a hard time finding them after the race is over!

 **Don't judge a book by its cover! After last year's race, Rainbow Dash and Applejack are both favorited to win first and second places, respectively.**

And now, come next year's race, I'll be favorited to win first place, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack will be favorited to win second and third place, respectively.

 **I'll hold you to those words!**

Don't hold your breath, though.

 **Don't worry. I won't.**

* * *

Later that day, when all the other ponies had gone their separate ways and Rarity and myself went home to the Carousel Boutique, we had engaged in more conversation. It wasn't large conversation, but it was some that managed to keep silence at bay.

"Wasn't today simply fabulous, Robert, dear?" Rarity asked me.

"It was," I answered back, "but who's to say that it has to end?"

"Oh?" Rarity replied. "Whatever do you mean?"

I half-shut my eyes and neared my beautiful Queen slowly. I leaned my head in towards hers and kissed her slowly and emotionally. She returned the favor, kissing me with equal amounts of love, possibly even more.. I didn't tell anyone yet, but I secretly got Rarity an engagement ring and I was planning on popping the question tomorrow, just as soon as I crossed the finish line at the Running of the Leaves. I want everyone to see and I want everyone to witness how happy I would become if and when Rarity said yes.

That last part made me nervous...what if she said no? What if I'll make a fool out of myself? What if?

 **And this is why the monstrosity has to take over in your head...your living portion is too annoying from time to time.**

What do you mean?

 **Stop with the fucking questions goddammit! You sound like an indecisive, teenage girl!**

Whoa, easy now...no need for that language, you know.

 **Oh, shut up and make out with your woman. I'll pretend that I'm not here.**

If you insist.

I continued kissing Rarity affectionately and emotionally. We were back in our room with the wonderful and beautiful full moon up high in the night sky being our only source of light. Sweetie Belle had long gone to sleep prior to us even returning home. She seemed really tired, probably the result of more crusading with Applebloom and Scootaloo earlier today, for we did notice them running around rapidly and hectically - probably looking for something to do in order to get their cutie marks - while we passed by.

The time I spent with Rarity seemed to slow down tremendously while we were together. It seemed to be slower than real time when we weren't together and was much more slower during the times we were together. I didn't mind it at all for one of two reasons, the first being that time moved by very fast here in this world. The second reason was that I was with Rarity while the time was slowed down.

"Robert, darling," Rarity quietly said, pulling herself away from me for a quick second, "you have a long day tomorrow. I think we should get some rest for your big race tomorrow."

I quickly contemplated the idea and suggestion in my head, deciding for her suggestion and gather some much needed sleep. I really wanted to do...other...things to Rarity tonight, but, making my Queen happy is what I want to do, and if she wants me to rest up for the race, then that is what I'll do.

"You win, my Queen," I replied, "I'll go to sleep."

"Who knows," continued Rarity, "you may be in for a surprise tomorrow!"

 _You don't know the half of it, beautiful._

I had gotten into the bed with Rarity, who had gotten under the covers after she said that. I looked over at her and slowly whispered-

"How about a little good luck for tomorrow, beautiful?"

Rarity smiled, "Sounds fair, my King."

She leaned in towards me and kissed me elegantly on my lips, which I did to her as well, before she pulled away and told me to go to sleep.

"Goodnight, Queen Rarity," I quietly said.

"Goodnight, King Robert," replied Rarity before turning off the light.

She fell asleep almost instantly - a shocking surprise to me, to say the least - while I remained awake and stared at the full moon that was high up in the sky. I usually get like this and act like this prior to something huge that happens either the next day or in the near future. Last time something like this happened was my college graduation...

I hadn't slept in days, believe it or not, and it was all I could think about. Figures my senior year of college should be my easiest year, right? No...it was my fucking hardest year! Especially the spring term! I don't want to go into full detail about what happened - that's a story of its own - but I'll say this: I may be a smart cookie and know pretty much anything, but I barely fucking passed the spring semester, thanks to my fucking cancer back home...forcing me out of class nearly every other damn day, making me fall behind and have a hard ass time keeping up. The worst part is that my professors wouldn't cut me any slack, despite being locked in a hospital bed day in and day out! At my graduation, I had to give an inspirational speech for overcoming all odds and graduating. I did, and I was proud of it. It was a short speech - about a minute long - and I'll never forget what I said at the end.

"Nobody helped me...nobody cut me any slack...I earned this! Take that society! Take that professors! Take that life! You all knocked me down, but I got up and finished you off!"

Turns out the life part knocked me out in the long run, like you know, but it led me to this so, Robert, one, life, zero!

Either way, reverting back onto the main track here after that long sidetrack story, I stared up at the beautiful full moon in the sky. It was hypnotizing, to say the least, and sparkled in the night sky. This full moon was beautiful...probably the second most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on in this world...the first being my soon-to-be-wife, Rarity.

I looked away from the moon and stared up at the ceiling. I couldn't sleep, like you know, but not because I was nervous about the race...

I was nervous because of the question and the answer...

 **For the love of Celestia, shut the fuck up about that already!**

Why should I? It will change out lives either for better or for worse!

 **Dude, have you ever seen Rarity act like this towards anyone else besides you? What are the odds she would say no to you tomorrow once you ask her to marry you!?**

What are the odds that the sun could burn us all to oblivion?

 **That would never happen!**

But it could.

 **But it won't!**

But it could.

 **And it won't! You ask her to be your wife, she'll say yes! Trust me on this one...I know these sorts of things.**

Yeah, suuure you do.

 **To each their own, I guess.  
**

Yeah, to each their own...

 **You should get some rest. You got a long day tomorrow, you know.**

You sound just like Rarity...

 **Riddle me that. Now go to sleep.**

Okay...

* * *

The next morning, I woke up really early and prepared myself for the long race ahead of me. I stretched out my legs and my neck and did some suicide runs out in the back yard in order to warm myself up. It was only about nine o'clock in the morning, but the race started in only a half hour. Rarity had already left for the race with Twilight and Lunar – who was gone the entire day yesterday taking care of some important royal duties with Princess Luna, forcing Princess Celestia to raise the moon herself last night. Rarity had promised to meet me at the finish line when the race was completed, so that's where I decided to pop the question. I managed to grab the ring I got her and smuggle it away from her and hide it in my mane while I stepped out of the house. During the race, I was going to have my magic hold it in place, which wouldn't result in me losing it, which I had a tendency to do so with valuable things back home.

After I warmed myself up, I left for the race and proceeded to the starting line. Usually, the race starts further towards the Everfree Forest, but this year, the starting line was at the base of White Tail Woods. I arrived in no time and saw some familiar faces lurking around, some notable ones being Ditzy Doo, Bon Bon, Lyra Heartstrings, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack.

"Howdy, Rob," Applejack chimed.

"Good morning, Applejack," I replied, "good morning, Rainbow Dash."

"Sup, Robert!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"You two ready for an interesting race today?" I asked.

"I'm ready to record my awesomeness in history books!" Rainbow Dash confidently spoke.

"For coming in __second__ place?" I playfully replied.

"For coming in __first__ place, thank you!" Rainbow Dash defended.

"How about you, Applejack?" I said.

"Ah'm ready to beat out Rainbow this year!" She told me.

"Which isn't going to happen, Apple Smack!" Rainbow Dash responded.

"Yeah, that doesn't seem right at all," I added, "you two finishing behind me sounds just about right."

"As if that'll happen!" Rainbow Dash laughed.

"Uh, no offense Rob," Applejack continued, "but have ya ever run in a race before?"

"Nope," I confidently replied, "but I am a fast unicorn with some athletic background back home, so how hard can it be?"

"For you to keep up with me," Rainbow continued, "pretty hard!"

"And that goes double fer me as well, Rob," Applejack added.

"Racers, please take your marks at the starting line!" Pinkie Pie shouted, the official Puh-eye in the sky commentator. "The Running of the Leaves will begin in one minute!"

"Sounds like we'd better get ready." I stated.

"Good luck, Rob," Applejack offered.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash added, "see you at the finish line!"

"Good luck to you both as well," I answered.

"Racers," Pinkie Pie said, "on your marks...get set...go!"

With that said, I sprinted out of the starting gates in a hurry, leaving everyone else in the dust. What did I tell you? An easy win is just ahead of me.

 **As long as you keep your head in the game!**

And how hard can that be, exactly?

"And they're off with newcomer Robert waaaayyyy up in front of everypony else!" Pinkie Pie stated.

"You know," a masculine sounding voice added, "not much is known about Robert's past life, but what is known is that he is one of the newer Element holders, the proud holder of the Element of Happiness, to be exact."

"Right, Spike," Pinkie Pie continued, "and he is awesome at that as well!"

"Uh," continued Spike, "ye-yes he is...what?"

"But let's get back to the race!" suggested Pinkie Pie.

What race? There's seemingly no competition for me!

 **Why don't you take it easy with the sprint, Robert, after all, you're inhumanely faster than anybody else here...it's not fair at all since you never get tired anymore.**

What are you saying?

 **Jog it out, that way, either Rainbow Dash or Applejack can catch up with you and you can make this race a little more interesting. Then, at the end, you sprint forward and take the victory for yourself. After all, it's no fun if one person...pony wins it by a landslide. Everyone likes the edge-of-your-seat, down-to-the-wire type events. Even you, remember? You always liked it when the World Series went to Game 7, except for the New York Yankees...you always cheered for a sweep by the Yankees whenever they made it to the final stage. You also liked it when the Super Bowl was decided by last minute or last second plays. Remember, you were devastated when the New England Patriots were beaten by the New York Giants in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI, but those two games came down to the wire.**

I hated seeing the Yankees lose, but I'll never forgive the Giants for ruining the Patriots perfect 2007-2008 season...they got fucking lucky BOTH times. However, I'll take a loss whenever they happen. I understand that you can't always win them all, so you do have to learn how to cope with defeat every now and again.

 **Hello? I think I'm losing you.**

Oh, sorry...so you want me to slow myself down and make things interesting, right?

 **Right on the money, Robert.**

Fine.

I slowed down to a slow jog afterwards and began listening for whoever was behind me. I heard nobody for quite a long time. I decided to look behind me and saw that I was going to be alone for a very long time.

"Man...I sure took a lead on everyone..." I told myself.

"...like Robert's about to find himself in a pickle, seeing how Rainbow Dash and Applejack are closing the gap between them and Robert!" Pinkie Pie commentated.

Excellent...now I can make this race interesting.

"And, as our competitors near the finish line, Robert's up front, holding on to a very slim lead, with Rainbow Dash and Applejack trailing right behind him!" Pinkie Pie continued.

"And it looks like Rainbow Dash has overtaken Robert!" Spike stated.

And this is where I take it all...

I sprinted like I did back at the starting line, easily passing both Rainbow Dash and Applejack, crossing the finish line and claiming victory for myself.

"And this year's Running of the Leaves winner is Robert," Pinkie Pie said, "claiming victory in this down-to-the-wire race!"

"Congrats, Rob," Applejack huffed, trying to catch her breath.

"Good...job...Rob...ert..." Rainbow Dash panted.

"Thank you," I replied.

Rarity had come over towards me and hugged me, congratulating me on a well-earned victory and a "hard fought" one, too. As soon as I regained my breath, I got down on two knees, then told Rarity-

"I love you very much, Rarity...I want to spend the rest of my life with you." I took out the ring and showed it to her. "Will you marry me?"

 _I managed to catch Rarity off guard as some tears of joy started falling from her eyes._

"Oh, Robert..." Rarity gasped, "why this is...this is so sudden!"

I looked into Rarity's eyes and saw then quiver, most likely from the question, but possibly from the ring I had gotten her. She glanced over at me, then at the ring, before finally answering back.

"What do you say, Rarity?" I asked.

"Oh, yes, Robert!" She replied. "Yes, yes, yes!"

I was honestly, at that moment, the happiest pony in all of Equestria to know that Rarity accepted my request to marry her. I got back up on all four of my legs and gently placed the ring over her horn, showing that we were now a unified couple with much love for each other. We received congratulatory cheers from everyone around us, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack patted me on the back for, how Rainbow put it, a job well done.

Rarity embraced me in a hug and I saw Pinkie Pie drop some confetti from above onto us. This was the happiest moment in both of my lives, and I am glad that I got to finally experience one of them.

Twilight appeared afterwards with Lunar and saw the ring on Rarity's horn. She smiled, congratulating us both, as did Lunar, and told us that, if we wanted to, we could have our wedding in Canterlot, assuming that it would be alright with Princess Celestia.

"You'd do that for us, Twilight?" I hopefully asked.

"As long as the Princess is fine with it, that is," reminded Twilight.

"We really owe you one, Twilight." Rarity added.

"Consider it a gift from me, Rarity." Twilight continued. "However," she stepped up closer to us and whispered, "this only happens as long as neither of you harm anypony else. Sound good?"

"You have our words, Twilight," we both said in unison, "we won't."

"Good," Twilight replied, "congratulations to you both again."

"Thank you, Twilight!" Rarity appreciated.

"We really appreciate this." I added.

"No problem at all, you two." Twilight told us, glancing back at Lunar emotionally.

"Congrats, y'all," Applejack said.

"Yeah," Rainbow chipped in, "we're proud of you!"

"Thank you, everypony!" Rarity said through her tears of joy.

We were showered with thanks and congratulations for a few more minutes before we managed to step away and have time to ourselves to appreciate the new life we were going to spend together. We walked back to the park together and sat down under a nearby tree near the entrance and just talked...simply simple talk.

 **See what happens when you listen to the monster inside of you?**

I should listen to you more than my living self.

 **Congratulations. Your chances just went from none to slim.**

Nice "Ghost Rider" reference.

 **You do have a lot of interests in this brain that I can toy with, you know.**

I know.

 **So how'd you like Pokémon X or Halo: Spartan Assault? Or how about that xbox you have?**

Shut up, please...I want to talk to my beautiful woman now.

 **Who's stopping you?**

"We have so many things that are about to change our lives forever, Robert!" Rarity said.

I was laying down, gazing up at my beautiful fiancé, watching her movements and the clouds floating on by slowly behind her.

"Like getting up and seeing the pony I love each and every day." I quietly spoke.

"You're simply adorable, Robert." Rarity replied.

"And all of this adorableness is for you and only you, sweet heart." I responded, kissing her on the lips in the process.

"I love you, Robert," Rarity quietly told me.

"And I love you, Rarity," I said.

"It's going to be a big adjustment, being two vampires living together...looking for blood together...loving...together..."

The more she spoke, the slower her rate of talking began to get and the closer she got to my face. We kissed each other romantically for the time being, ultimately being broken up by Twilight and Spike running into us.

I swear, it feels as if Twilight shows up whenever things seem to get...interesting between Rarity and myself...this is either annoying, a complete coincidence, or just her way of protecting Rarity.

"Hey, you two lovebirds!" Twilight shouted.

"Hello, Twilight," we both said.

Spike appeared to not want to speak at all...I wonder why...

"Is something wrong, Spike?" I asked.

"'Is something wrong?'" Spike reiterated. "Are you serious?"

"Well...yes," I replied, "I am."

"Well," continued Spike, "if you must know, you're marrying the pony of my dreams!"

I remembered how Spike was in love with Rarity - how that little detail slipped my mind is beyond me - and he did not like that I was marrying her at all. Twilight lightly shoved Spike, reminding him to be more congratulatory of both Rarity and myself, rather than jealous, which, to a dragon, can lead to serious trouble.

"I'm sorry about that, Spike," I answered, pulling him aside while the two girls talked, "I know that this is tough to accept, but Rarity and I are truly in love."

"Yeah," Spike shot back, "it is hard for me to accept that. I've known her for nearly six years and here you come dropping into Ponyville and take the pony of my dreams away from me..."

"Tell you what," I said, trying to calm the situation down, "I promise to take good care of her as if she was a fire ruby. How does that sound?"

"I'll hold you to that promise," Spike told me, "and if you don't keep that promise, I will come and hurt you."

I smiled, putting one of my hooves around Spike's body. "Sounds fair."

"Congratulations, by the way." Spike replied.

"Thanks, little guy," I smiled in response.

* * *

Later that night, while we were all by ourselves, Rarity and I had begun planning out the wedding and the date. It was a lot of hard work and seemed to be a lot easier than how I imagined it – whether it was her or back home – but by the time Rarity and I had settled on nearly everything, it was a bit late. We checked over everything once more, just to see if everything was perfect for our special day.

"So it's settled then," Rarity said, "we have the wedding in Canterlot in about one week and we'll have all of our friends there as well as our families..."

"You mean your family, right?" I corrected. "Remember, I'm not from here and if I were, my family would be dead...all remaining close members anyway...besides Ariana, but still."

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Rarity apologized.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about that, Rare," I replied, "after all, soon, I'll have a family once more...I mean, sure they may be in-laws, but they're family, nonetheless."

"You always look at the positive things in life," she told me, "and that is what I love most about you!"

"I try my best to look at the positive outlooks," I murmured, "for if I didn't, I most likely wouldn't be here with you."

"You are simply the best, darling!"

"Which is false because you are clearly the best!" I playfully teased.

"Oh, Robert," Rarity said, cheeks blushing from the smooth affection.

"Oh, Rarity," I spoke, fangs extending just a bit and eyes half-shutting themselves.

It was very late at night where we were at - sitting on the bed, to be exact, talking about the wedding that was currently being prepared for us in Canterlot - and we were young and restless, excited about the events that were scheduled to take place in just about one week. We had talked endlessly about the wedding for about the last four hours now, covering a wide variety of topics, such as her wedding dress, my tuxedo, what our friends should wear, what types of catering to have at the reception, and where we should go for our honeymoon. It was all important matters that had to be discussed, which we did so immediately, finishing up with more than enough satisfaction for both of us. Once we finished, I allowed my fangs to extend themselves normally, and Rarity half-shut her eyes.

"How about a little role play?" She asked me.

"What do you want to role play, Queen Rarity?" I playfully replied.

"What if you were a blood thirsty monster-"

"Which I am," I interrupted, chuckling in the process.

"Right," continued Rarity, "and what if you were hunting me down and finally managed to catch me, holding me down and preparing to devour my blood, would you like that?"

"I don't mean to harm you," I answered in reply, "but..." I paused for a quick second. "I finally got you now!"

Rarity tried pulling off a frightened voice, the kind of voice one speaks when they are met face-to-face with certain doom, but our giggling and laughing made that a bit harder to pull off easily.

"Oh!" She screamed. "Somepony, anypony, help me!"

"Nobody can help you now!" I shouted, extending my fangs all the way and digging them deep into Rarity's skin (as deep as they usually go, but more quicker).

"Somepony, HELP!" Rarity yelped - well, more of a giggle than a yelp.

"Your blood," I continued, "your precious, mouth watering, delicious, blood!"

I kept sucking out some of Rarity's blood for a few more moments before pulling myself away and wiping my mouth free from red stains. Rarity played her part by pretending to be slaughtered by my bite marks and loss of blood, having her eyes shut closed and very minimum motion.

"Now," I spoke, "you shall become one of us and roam the night, looking for some blood..."

As soon as I finished that, Rarity opened up her eyes and extended her fans slowly while performing her other changes on a much slower pace as well, showing the signs of transformation from a normal unicorn to a vampire unicorn. She sat up next to me and looked me straight into my eyes.

"Yes, King Robert," she slowly said as her transformation was nearing completion.

I smiled at Rarity, who played for a tremendous actress if I do say so myself, and she smiled back at me.

"Want to switch roles, Robert?" Rarity asked.

"Why not, right?" I answered. "It would be kind of fun to playfully go through the process of becoming a vampire this time."

"Same concept?" She asked again.

"Yup." I replied.

Silence fell for a short while afterwards while Rarity was preparing herself for the role reversal.

"And now that you're trapped with nowhere to go," Rarity evilly spoke, "it's time!"

"No," I screamed, making it sound convincing since I did a little bit of acting back home, "please...have mercy!"

"Mercy is for the weak!" Rarity shouted, driving her fangs into my neck and sucking out my blood slowly.

"No!" I continued. "Please! AHH!"

Rarity pulled herself away from my neck and wiped her face clean of the blood on her face, looking menacingly down at me while I slowly shut my eyes, resembling how she shut her eyes while I was the one who was "devouring" her.

"And now..." continued Rarity, "you are mine! From now on, you will do what your Queen commands you to do!"

"Yes, Queen Rarity." I emotionlessly said, closely followed by an evil laugh from Rarity.

 **Nice role playing Robert. You are indeed a great actor, and I'm sure she knew it.**

"Oh, Robert," Rarity started in her normal voice, "you are great at role playing, you know that?"

"But I couldn't have been as spectacular as you were, Rarity," I replied.

"Was I really that good?" She asked me.

"Of course you were, dear!" I praised.

"You're so good to me, sweetie," Rarity told me, kissing me on my lips romantically.

"I try my best to make you happy, dear," I replied.

"And you succeed in keeping your Queen happy as can be, my love..." She told me, kissing me once more.

 **Congratulations, Robert. You have succeeded in making the woman of your dreams happy. How do you feel about that?**

I feel like the luckiest unicorn in all of Equestria.

 **And in about six more days, you two vampires will become the happiest, undead couple in this entire kingdom.**

That is something I can be proud of...something I can be proud of for a long, long time.

* * *

My, oh my, how time sure flies fast! A week with the woman of your dreams simply went by too quickly. Now, today, was the day I've been waiting for; the day we've been waiting for...

Canterlot...such a wonderful capital city...so beautiful, so elegant, so...so, amazing. Words simply cannot describe this capital city fully and if they could, that list would be tremendously long in a good way.

The ceremonies were to be held inside one of the halls inside the Canterlot Castle - a task that was backed by Princess Twilight Sparkle herself. It was a large hall, plenty of windows, and more than enough lighting for everyone inside the room. Princess Celestia promised to say a few words about the two Elements that were to be wed momentarily, closely followed by some words from Twilight herself.

I was nervous...I mean, how was a vampire unicorn supposed to feel about getting married? How was anyone supposed to feel when they get married, for that matter? Is it intriguing? Is it fascinating? Is it tough? Or is it gruesome?

A knock on the door soon snapped me out of my thoughts and the door slowly opened up afterwards. Coming inside was Spike, who was wearing a tuxedo that Rarity had made especially for him for today. He came up to me, wanting to talk to me one last time before the wedding was scheduled to begin.

"How are you feeling?" He asked me.

"Like I'm about to die from nervousness..." I gulped, trying to straighten my bow tie.

"Just relax," Spike told me, "pretty soon, you'll have Rarity's heart and soul."

Not necessarily, you know...our souls are no longer with us since we technically are the walking dead. I may have her heart, but never her soul.

"Thanks, Spike," I replied, "I needed that."

"Any time, Robert," he answered in reply, "just remember, you break your promise about keeping her as happy as she can be, and I'll come for you."

"You have my word, little guy." I said.

I looked at the clock located above the mirror I was staring into and noticed that it was almost 12:30 in the afternoon...I was supposed to be up at the altar by now!

 **Great, Robert...the one time you can't fuck up, and you did...**

Shut up...

 **Not my fault that you're late, you know.**

You could've reminded me though.

 **Could've, would've, should've, didn'tve.**

That last one isn't even a word!

 **It is if I say it is, which it is!**

You're drunk!

 **And you're late!**

Oh, horse apples...

I rushed towards the altar and managed to get there before anyone else had arrived. Shortly afterwards, my friends had started coming up to the altar, Spike included, and started surrounding me as the orchestral music started sounding. Twilight called especially for Octavia to come and help provide some classy orchestra music with her cello, something I'm more than certain that Rarity will love.

After the orchestra music started and Princess Celestia had stepped up in front of us all at the top of the altar, Rarity had elegantly come through the doors wearing the most beautiful wedding gown you had ever lay your eyes upon. I was awe struck by my soon-to-be wife's stunning looks and was proud that I was about to become her husband for all eternity.

Rarity had slowly approached the altar, proceeding up the steps, and finally coming to a halt right next to me. We had turned our attention towards Princess Celestia as she began saying a few words about us.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Celestia started, "we are gathered here today to celebrate the coming together of these two determined ponies. Their love is undeniable and undying between these two and have pulled them through any and all obstacles that have been presented to them throughout their lives. Rarity, the Element of Generosity, and Robert, the Element of Happiness, are two ponies that were truly made for each other.

"May we please see the rings that will symbolize the coming together of these two ponies, please?" Celestia asked, looking at Spike.

Spike smiled, pulling out two rings from his backside. One ring had a purple gem and resembled much like Rarity's Element of Harmony while the other ring had an emerald gem and resembled much like my Element of Harmony. Princess Celestia levitated both rings in front of us both and we each took over each other's ring with our magic.

"With this ring," I quietly stated, "I promise to always love and care for you."

I had then put Rarity's ring on her horn, as unicorns tend to do with their rings, and then it was Rarity's turn.

"With this ring," she stated, "I also promise to always love and care for you."

Rarity had then put my ring on my horn and we turned back towards Celestia for a few more words.

"These ponies have overcome anything that had been thrown at them and may they continue to do the same for years to come." Celestia said. "Now, Princess Twilight Sparkle has requested to say a few words herself. Princess?"

"Thank you, Princess Celestia," Twilight thanked, stepping up from her original location from behind Rarity to next to Celestia.

"Rarity and Robert," she started, "it seems like only it was yesterday when you two met. If it weren't for there being a seventh Element of Harmony, we wouldn't have gotten to know you, Robert. It is with much gratitude and happiness that I do wish you both a very long, happy life together. You two can be seen as a source of inspiration now and are forever to be known as one now. On behalf of Prince Lunar, who unfortunately could not be here today with us, and myself, I want to tell you both congratulations."

Twilight's speech was deep, to say the least...I enjoyed every word of it. She then proceeded back to where she came from originally, while Celestia continued on for a bit while longer.

"By the power invested in me in this great capital city of Canterlot," continued Celestia, "I now pronounce you mare and colt! Robert, you may kiss the bride."

I approached my new wife and had kissed her with all the love that I had on her lips. She blushed, returning the favor by kissing me as well before we had begun leaving the hall together. Hoof-in-hoof, we walked out of the large, majestic hallway together, back to the carriage we had rented for the day.

"I love you, Robert," Rarity told me, collapsing her head slowly onto my shoulder.

"And I love you, my elegant and majestic Queen," I replied.

* * *

"My sister," Celestia said, "wasn't that emotional? Two Element holders coming together to be one with each other."

"I'm not too sure about that, my dear sister," Luna replied.

"Why not?" Celestia asked her younger sister.

"It doesn't seem at all natural." Luna answered. "Those two have been back for about a week, two weeks tops, and they get married? Does that not seem unusual to you?"

"It most certainly isn't the way I would go about that, if and when that should come," Princess Celestia responded, "but if it makes them happy, who's to argue against that?"

"You do create a hasty point there, sister," stated Luna.

"And who knows," continued Celestia, "maybe it will be that way when you find your one special pony."

Luna had blushed, thinking about her perfect stallion...strong willed, understanding, compassionate, lovable.

Robert was Luna's perfect stallion in her eyes. Sure he was shorter than she was, but size does not matter to Luna since she is taller than the majority of the ponies in Equestria. Princess Cadance was lucky enough to find Shining Armor being the same height she is, but that is the only other pony who is similar in height to either her or Princess Luna. Princess Celestia has an even harder time finding someone around her height seeing how she is nearly doubled the height of an average subject's height.

"Come now, Princess Luna," Princess Celestia continued, "best we get some sleep now. We've had an exhilarating day today."

"You go on ahead, my sister," Luna replied, "I want to stay and bask in the glory of my full moon for tonight."

"Okay, Princess Luna," answered Celestia, "just be sure to get some sleep tonight."

"Will do," Luna responded before Celestia walked out of the room.

Princess Luna then turned around and walked out into the nearest balcony, focusing her gaze up at the large, bright, beautiful full moon that she had risen. She then paid more attention towards the hundreds of tiny stars that were used to paint her nighttime sky.

Princess Luna seemingly loved her beautiful nighttime sky. The only thing that bothered her was the lack of enthusiasm from the subjects. She wished others basked in the glory of the night much like she did. There was, however, one location within Canterlot that always seemed to be awake during the night and asleep during the day, but then again, that is why they call it a night club. Princess Luna had been over there a few times recently to help quiet the public, seeing how surrounding areas can hear the night club and always complain about noise pollution. Today was no exception seeing how a couple of the evening royal guards asked Luna to help quiet them down...again.

"A lot of ponies are unhappy with the sound, Your Highness," one guard spoke to her.

"I'll take care of it, as usual," Luna replied, flying off towards the night club.

This night club had already known Princess Luna and her way by now, seeing how Vinyl Scratch is the only reason why they constantly get noise complaints, so this was an easy proposition to fix for her. All she had to do was fly over the building with her magic embracing her horn with her lovely aura, and within a few seconds, Vinyl, or how they call her inside the building, DJ Pon-3, lowered the volume of her mixes a bit. It was still loud, but not loud enough to hear outside the place.

Princess Luna stood around and flew for a little while longer. She had always loved flying through the cool, crisp air during these amazing autumn nights. It made her feel a bit more special than she usually does back at the castle.

Luna flew over a nearby forest and saw two ponies walk into the forest. To her, she felt that this was unusually strange, seeing how nopony dared ever enter into those woods in the middle of the night. Slowing down a bit, Princess Luna managed to her a quick glimpse at the two ponies before they disappeared into the woods. One was a green colored unicorn, while the other was a brilliant white colored unicorn, much like Princess Celestia's color.

"Those two look just like Robert and Rarity." she stammered. She decided to follow them into the forest and see what these two unicorns were up to.

The forest was very dark during the night and tonight was no exception. Not even the light from Princess Luna's horn could help her see where she was going. However, Princess Luna continued onward, hoping that she could find the two ponies.

"Why are they going into the forest at this late hour anyway?" Luna wondered, speaking out loud without realizing it at first, giving her away to the two ponies.

"Why'd you follow us, Princess Luna?" The smaller white unicorn asked in a sophisticated feminine voice.

"What are you doing out in the woods in the middle of the night?" Luna immediately questioned.

"You didn't answer my question," the white unicorn continued.

"And you failed to answer mine!" snapped Luna.

"How about an eye for an eye, Princess?" The bigger green unicorn asked.

"What does thou mean?" asked Luna in reply, puzzled.

"Answer her question," the green unicorn continued, "and she'll answer yours."

"So why did you follow us, Princess Luna?" The white unicorn asked.

"You two are my subjects," Luna declared, "and I must be sure that all my subjects are safe and sound."

"It's a shame, really..." The unicorn continued.

"And why is that?" Luna replied.

"Hmph...you came out here to make sure we were safe, but you didn't think about your safety!"

The two then spun around and began to attack Princess Luna right then and there. Luna was so surprised, not being able to budge at all, watching a couple of beams of magic fly straight towards her.

"Goodbye, Princess Luna." The white unicorn told me.

Princess Luna finally managed to snap out of her trance and defended herself by absorbing the beams of magic into her horn. The beams weren't all that powerful, but Luna was most annoyed.

"Thou are attempting to attack me?" I questioned. Shouts of defiance are what she heard in reply, nothing more, nothing less. "You're kidding, right?"

Still not convinced, the two unicorns – whom Luna correctly identified as Robert and Rarity – charged straight at the princess of the night, who, unfortunately, was forced to show them no mercy, even if they did just get married earlier in the day. However, the closer they got to the princess, the more she felt unable to protect myself. Oddly enough, Luna also began to feel my body become unexplainably colder.

She retracted her wings back to her sides and shuffled backwards while the two married Element holders continued charging straight towards Princess Luna and, as they neared her, she noticed two sets of fangs from both of them and noticed that their eyes weren't there usual, casual colors, but instead, they were a demonic red color.

"Stay back!" warned the princess, signs of fear being traced in her voice.

Still, the wedded couple charged. Not wanting to fight, Princess Luna had begun taking off into the night sky, fleeing from any kind doom since she was unable to harm those two in any way. As she took off though, Princess Luna felt one of the ponies' sharp teeth penetrate one of her legs, piercing it and causing it to bleed. She did manage to shake herself free from anymore danger, flying back towards home and, more specifically, her room, but what was done was done.

Flying through the air rapidly, Luna could feel her blood dripping from her leg wound. In hopes of limiting the blood loss, she flew faster back towards the castle. She wanted to be the one that tended to her wound and did not want to be tended to by her guards. Luna honestly loved her guards very much, but she viewed them as overprotective and thought that she cannot protect herself from any kind of danger. That made the princess so agitated, seeing how she was just as strong, if not, stronger than Celestia herself!

 _Calm down, Luna._ She thought to herself. _No need to get so snippy now...don't want to hurt yourself now. You're already having to deal with a bite mark on your leg. This is frightfully true._ Her thoughts went quiet for a few more moments before picking back up again. _My room! My glorious, nighttime based room...oh how I missed thee._

Luna had flown back into her room shortly thereafter and smiled slightly. She sat down atop her bed, turning on the light with her magic. At least, she attempted to turn on the light with her magic. It was right there that Princess Luna noticed that she was having a hard time concentrating on performing even the most basic of magic abilities.

 _That bite mark must have something to do with this!_ She thought quietly.

"Princess Luna," Princess Celestia called from outside, "is everything all right in there? I saw you fly into your room in a hurry. Are you okay?"

"Everything is divine, my sister." Luna replied. "There's no need to worry."

"Don't you mean fine?" Princess Celestia asked in response. "And are you sure that you're unharmed?"

"Yes..." retorted Luna, answering both questions in the process.

"Ok, Princess Luna," Celestia said, "if you need me, you can always call me for anything."

"Thank you, my sister," Luna told her, wrapping up her wound tightly so that the blood could stop falling out.

"Goodnight, my dear sister." She spoke.

"Goodnight, my dear sister." Luna replicated.

Celestia then walked back towards her room as Princess Luna continued tending to her wound, completely unable to concentrate on her own magic. Not knowing what else to do, Luna chose not to bring her guards into this predicament because she knew that they would alert Princess Celestia and this mess would become even messier. Luna decided to sleep off this awful night and wait until morning to do something about this, so she let it slide for now, sliding into her bed and manually pulling the covers over her unusually cold body.

Princess Luna tossed and turned on her bed, trying her best to get comfortable and hopefully fall asleep before having to lower the moon and raise Princess Celestia's sun. The only problem was that Luna wasn't able to do find tranquility and sleep due to her unusual and out-of-wack body temperature. One moment, her body was as cold as ice, causing Luna to pull the covers over herself manually and the next moment, her body was as hot as the sun itself, forcing her to remove the covers from her body, which brought herself right back to square one.

Another thing that was seemingly bothering Princess Luna was the unusual aroma that was filling the air around her. To her, it smelled exactly like blood and it smelled delicious, to be perfectly blunt. Removing the covers entirely and removing the bandage she had used to tie up my leg, Princess Luna revealed her leg wound, with some blood gushing out of it and spreading out everywhere.

"Blood..." Luna quietly remarked, "I wonder how it tastes exactly."

Princess Luna brought her head closer to the gushing blood and began to feel her teeth shift a bit, which made her rush over towards the nearest mirror that was stored in the room. In the reflection, Princess Luna could see that her long, flowing mane was the same and nothing different. She also noticed that her coat color was the same as well, but noticed that her teeth had sharpen themselves somehow! Staring intently into the mirror for any other changes, Princess Luna also saw that her eyes changed from the normal teal color they usually were to this demonic red color now, just like the wedded couples' eyes from earlier!

"What's going on?" Luna asked herself, trying her best not to alert her sister in the process. "What's happening to me?"

Shortly thereafter, Luna felt her teeth begin sharpening themselves which had hurt her very much and, when she went to bite her lip to attempt enduring the pain, her sharp canine teeth penetrated her skin, causing her mouth to start bleeding. Luna began sucking in the loose blood, enjoying the odd taste that the blood had to offer. It was warm, but the quick movements made it cold. It tasted awful, but at the same time, it tasted wonderful.

"What was going with me?" Luna gulped, swallowing some more blood. "Why is this happening?"

Princess Luna tried her very best fighting whatever it was that was making her act the way she was, but nothing seemed to work. In fact, it only made her want even more blood, despite its awful taste, and less sleep! This version of Princess Luna – the crazy, blood-craving pony – would appreciate the eternal night, but the sane version we know understood that everypony needs both the sun and moon to remain safe and calm and, should they find out what the troubled princess has become, that wouldn't end well at all...

"What am I going to do?"

Princess Luna had unfortunately – and successfully – been transformed into a blood thirsty monster! Shortly thereafter, a knock came from Princess Luna's bedroom door, which startled the princess of the night greatly.

"Princess Luna," Celestia knocked, "are you okay in there?"

"I...I'm fine, Celestia," Luna lied, "I just had a fearful dream."

"Want to talk about it?" She asked the troubled princess.

"Let's talk in the morning." replied Princess Luna. "I'm exhausted."

"Sounds good, Princess Luna," Celestia responded, seeming to buy the little lie, "have a good night's sleep."

"And you do, too." the night princess answered, focusing once more on herself and her new features in the mirror.

 _What am I?_ Princess Luna thought. _Am I myself? Or am I an unruly tyrant? Can I be trusted?_

Princess Luna then flew out of her room seemingly instantaneously in the hopes to find some answers. Flying back towards the forest from earlier, Princess Luna had hoped to find the same two ponies that turned her into her current state. Arriving at the outskirts of the forest, Princess Luna touched base with the ground softly and could smell some warm, delicious blood spiraling through the air. Since those two unicorns were the only ponies that dared enter this forest this late at night, Luna figured that the aroma belonged to both of them.

She had then stepped hoof into the forest, searching for those two monsters that foolishly attacked her earlier. She wasn't moving fast at all, but instead was trusting the new keen sense of smelling she had gained in order to help her navigate through the forest to find those two unicorns. The aroma branched off from the little dirt path Luna was on and started traveling into some nearby bushes. She stared deeply into those bushes and paid close attention to see if there was any movement in the slightest.

Minutes had passed before Princess Luna had heard a slight shuffling of leaves coming from the bush nearby. Slowly, Luna approached it and commanded that whoever was hiding inside the bush that they show themselves at that very moment. Whatever was inside the bush shuffled around some more before finally springing up out of the bush.

"Who are you?" They rudely asked.

"We were about to ask you the same question." replied Luna.

The pony before Luna simply stared at her, running away after some tense silence. The princess wanted to go after that pony, but held her ground once she began hearing hoofsteps coming from behind her position. So, she turned around and noticed that before her stood the two unicorns that she saw earlier, prior to the bite.

"It looks like the transformation is complete." The larger green unicorn stated.

"Looks that way." The smaller white unicorn added.

"What did you do to me?" Luna boomed, confronting the two ponies, demanding that they explain what exactly happening.

The two ponies stood silent, prompting Luna to stomp her front hooves heavily, causing the nearby area to tremble and shake. Silence roamed the area thereafter as the three ponies stared intensely at each other. Lengthy minutes had passed by until Princess Luna asked the same exact question she asked earlier, switching to the Royal Canterlot voice in order to get her point across to them.

"Pipe down, Luna!" The white unicorn said.

"That's __Princess__ Luna, thou ungrateful whelp!" Luna screamed in response.

"Whatever," the green unicorn continued.

"What did thou do to thy Princess of the Night!?" she demanded once more.

"We simply made you one of us!" The white unicorn answered.

"Us?" questioned the princess, switching away from the Royal Canterlot voice.

"We, Princess Luna," the white unicorn said, "are vampires, both Robert and myself. Now you are one too!"

"But why?" Princess Luna asked, looking at Robert, tears filling her eyes.

"Because that's what we do," the white unicorn continued, "vampires need blood to survive and, since we aren't home, we had to improvise."

"But why choose thy Princess?" Luna asked again.

"Rarity felt it would be best that way." Robert answered.

"So...I'm...a vampire now?" Luna sighed, tried putting two and two together.

"Most certainly, Luna," Rarity told me.

"I...Princess Celestia isn't going to like this one bit!" shouted Luna.

"And who's to say that she's ping to find out?" Rarity continued.

"I...well..."

"She won't find out," Rarity said, "because as your Queen, I will either terminate you if she does find out, or convert her as well."

Princess Luna heeded that comment heavily, as it sounded like a very serious threat that was just made out to her. Luna was slightly frightened, knowing that she just couldn't sit idly by and wait for nothing to happen. Acting on a slower scale, Princess Luna opted that she should tell Princess Celestia what was going on and how there are vampires now, but that very thought seemed like something that Princess Celestia wouldn't believe at all. Even if she were to believe Luna, who's to say that there is something they could do to help prevent this serious problem?

"Do I make myself clear, Luna?" Rarity asked.

"I...uh..."

"I'll ask you again: do I make myself clear? Because if I didn't," she stopped to reveal some of her magic to me, showing it off on a nearby tree, "I will."

"Y-you have made yourself clear..." stammered Luna. _What now?_ She thought. _Go home and pretend that none of this happened? I can't even imagine a world without my sister. It was hard enough having to spend an entire millennium on the moon without her guidance or compassion towards me. I can't imagine what would happen if they did something towards her._

 _What am I supposed to do? Kill them off and deny all of this happening? If I did that, then Equestria would be left without one of its important means of defense...but if I didn't and they even so put a hoof on my sister and harmed her...well, there's no telling what I would do as a response. This is simply awful...just awful..._

Turning around, Princess Luna started flying out of the forest and away from this inevitable nightmare. Before flying away, however, Rarity called out to the distressed princess and told her something very interesting.

"Anything you do to try and harm us," she said, "we will come and hunt you down!"

"Now we don't want to have to bury one of Equestria's Princesses, now do we?" Robert added.

Luna shook her head and stormed off back towards her room in a hurry. She could still feel her sharp fangs and tried readjusting them back to their original formation, but was unable to do so. Luna crashed through her bedroom window, originally forgetting that she had sealed it shut upon leaving in the first place. Unable to control her flight patterns after colliding with and charging through her window, Luna then slammed into her door, most likely causing several of the royal guards to rush to her safety, as well as Princess Celestia.

 _I can't let her see me like this._ Luna thought to herself

"Princess Luna!" One of the guards shouted. "Is everything all right inside there?"

"Everything is fine, thank you," lied Luna, "just return to your duties!"

"If you say so, Your Highness," he replied back.

 _I wish everything was fine,_ she resided quietly, _What was I supposed to do? Come clean and explain to my sister what I have become? Or shall I keep this a secret from everypony and continue living as if nothing has happened at all? As a vampire now, I don't know if Rarity and Robert have enhanced hearing or can hear my thoughts now, so what am I supposed to do?_

"Princess Luna," Celestia knocked, "may I please come in?"

Startled, Princess Luna shot a look back at the door to her bedroom, wondering if she should let her in and explain herself to Celestia or if she should let her in and play innocent, continuing her rapidly increasing web of lies. Luna knew she hasn't been entirely truthful to her or even to her subjects for that matter for a long time, often times wondering if she should return to her merry ways and become Queen of the eternal night once more. But then again, it always fails in the end, right? The truth always finds it's way around even the stickiest of situations.

"Are you by yourself?" a shy Luna asked Celestia.

"If you just want me to come in with no guards," she started, "I can do that, if you want."

"Please do." Luna softly answered.

"As you wish, Luna." Celestia responded.

Princess Celestia has rarely ever called her younger sister by just Luna before unless the circumstances were severe or if she were in pain. Celestia called her sister Luna one time before and that was when Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon all those years ago. Luna felt that Princess Celestia was starting to suspect that something wasn't right with her, wondering if Celestia knew something that she didn't.

"You may enter," Princess Luna whispered.

The door was then embraced in the older sister's bright pale yellow magic aura and started to open slowly. Celestia had entered the room slowly and, as promised, with the accompany of nopony else, which Luna liked. As you know, Luna is not one for publicity or being around other ponies - though her job requires her to do that - and so Luna likes being left alone the majority of the time. Celestia neared the distressed princess, shutting the door behind her slowly and gently, taking a seat next to Princess Luna on her bed.

I took extreme precautions with my new features, trying my very best to hide my uncontrollable fangs right now and shutting my eyes tightly while Celestia was next to me on my bed. She took more of that and immediately questioned it.

"Is something the matter, Luna?" She asked me.

"My sister..." Luna started, slowing down, trying to find the right words in order to better explain her current situation. "I...I..."

"Yes?"

Princess Luna sighed, opening her eyes slowly and looking up towards her elder sister with eyes that signaled that she desperately needed help.

"Princess Luna," Celestia quietly replied, so that the royal guards would not hear the conversation, "what's wrong with your eyes?"

At that moment, Princess Luna began feeling her fangs sharpen themselves once more, which prompted Celestia to question that and what happened to her.

"What's wrong with your canine teeth?" She asked the damsel in distress.

"I...I think...I think I'm becoming a monster..." Luna replied.

"What ever do you mean, my sister?"

"Earlier," Princess Luna began, deciding to explain what happened entirely tonight, "I flew out to the night club on the other side of town, hoping to relinquish the complaints that have been coming to me today about the loud noise coming from it. I managed to quiet them down, and once I did so, I decided to take a quick flight around to stretch out my wings a bit. While flying around, I noticed...two unicorns step foot into the woods outside of town, so I went to go investigate it myself. Upon entering the forest myself, they spotted me and attacked me. I flew away as fast as I could, but one of them managed to bite me on my leg, see?" She paused briefly and pointed to her leg wound before continuing on with the story. "Upon flying back here to my room, I began to notice some drastic changes, as you can very well see now. I wanted some answers, so I went back to the forest and found the two that attacked me earlier and they explained that my "transformation" was nearing completion, explaining to me that they were vampires and have made me one as well. They also threatened me that if I tell this to anypony, that they would either hurt me, or hurt the one that I told this story to..."

Celestia was both surprised and shocked at the complexity and length of the story, finding much of the strange actions hard to believe. As strange as this sounded leaving Luna's mouth, it was all completely true and anypony who listened could see that, based off of her different facial features; this was oddly true. Princess Celestia, holding back a few tears, embraced Princess Luna in a hug, forcing tears to fall from her demonic colored eyes now.

"I don't know what to do, my sister..." sobbed Luna.

Princess Luna hadn't sobbed in ages. The last time that Princess Luna wept like this was when she got to see Princess Celestia for the first time in over a thousand years. Now, however, was a different time; a time where chaos was looming inside of Luna's own body, leaving traces of self-doubt and leaving Luna in a state in which she didn't know what to do or who to turn to. Princess Celestia, holding her younger sister close to her, gently brushed a hoof through Luna's flowing mane and offered up some kind words that Luna desperately needed to hear at the moment.

"It's okay, Luna," she smoothly told Luna, "I'm here for you."

"I've become a monster-hur-hur..." Luna continued, still sobbing heavily.

"Listen to me," Celestia said, moving away from Luna in order to look into her eyes, "you are not a monster!"

"Yes I am..." Luna sighed.

"No," she continued, "you are not! You are a beautiful Princess, not a monster!"

"No I'm not!" the damsel squealed. "I'm a ravenous freak!"

"Listen to me," Celestia remarked, grabbing onto Luna's shoulders and looking straight into her eyes, "you are not a monster. You are not, a monster. You are a graceful, majestic Princess that's misunderstood, that's all, nothing else. We'll get through this together, just remember: you. Are. Not. A. Monster."

Princess Luna gazed heavily and deeply into her sister's eyes, letting her wipe the tears from her own. She began to feel her fangs revert back to their original canine formation. The two regal sisters then embraced once more in a hug.

"You are able to control Nightmare Moon from returning," Celestia told Luna, "what makes this any different?"

Celestia then released herself from Luna, smiling back at her, before she started making her way out of the room. Before she left however, she had one more item to tell Luna, which made her feel a lot better on the inside, but not completely better.

"Don't worry," she said, "I won't tell anypony about this."

"Thank you, my dear sister." the Princess of the Night replied.

* * *

A few days have passed since the events that happened on that terrible, dreadful night, and both Princess Celestia and Prince Lunar have gracefully accepted Princess Luna's new way of life, though she does emphasize keeping it a secret from the subjects, not knowing entirely how they would view Luna, being a vampony now.

Today was the first time in a while that Princess Luna rose the moon on her own. Recently, Prince Lunar had done that, while Princess Celestia claimed that Princess Luna was simply under the weather and unable to perform her royal duties for the time being. Celestia said that, letting the subjects of Equestria sympathize over Luna's "condition" and she also told all of the royal guards to not check up on her and to leave her be for the time being. Princess Luna understood that this caused plenty of confusion for them, seeing how the jobs of the ponies in the royal guard was to protect and serve the royal sisters, and they were being told to not protect one of their princesses. It wasn't natural, but that is how it went.

Luna stood inside her room these last few days, trying to control her condition fully, like she does with Nightmare Moon's spirit. They may be inside of Princess Luna's body now and be a part of her, but it is solely Luna who controls them; they don't control her. Celestia and Lunar were the only ponies who came in during that time and they would only come in to see how Luna was doing and to check up on her, bringing her some things, if she requested them. It was solely Princess Celestia's idea that Luna should come out of her room and return to performing her royal duties, furthering the illusion that Princess Luna was indeed under the weather the last few days. Performing her royal duties once more, Princess Luna managed to conduct and perform them with ease, making it seem as if she had full control of the beast that roamed inside of her now.

Luna was not sad that she had become what she is now. Rather, Luna has embraced that feature and now claims it as her own. However, she knew that she must bring this awful condition up with Robert and Rarity, seeing how they were identical – literally – to what she was now and that they are unable to control themselves.

Upon raising the moon, it was heard that Rarity and Robert had returned from their "honeymoon," so, wisely, Princess Luna alerted Princess Celestia that she was going to take an evening stroll through the park in order to clear her head about these unfortunate events that happened the last few days. With much compassionate, understanding, and caring, Princess Celestia understood how Luna was feeling and allowed her to go for her stroll, no guards attending to Princess Luna's side.

Luna did actually take a walk through the park and did manage to get the idea of being a vampony out of her head, seeing how she can control it with ease now. Rushing over to the area Robert and Rarity were staying at, which was near the top of the castle inside a suite that Twilight Sparkle helped convince Celestia to let them use, Luna hoped that the two lovebirds did not leave Canterlot yet. She opened up the door and could see Rarity and Robert packing up their things in order to return to Ponyville tomorrow morning, timing the entrance perfectly.

"Why, hello there, Princess Luna!" Robert cheerfully said.

Princess Luna remained silent, knowing all too well that these two were trying to play dumb and pretend that they had no idea as to what happened a few days ago. Rarity turned around and took note to the annoyed look that Luna had on her face.

"Is something the matter, Princess Luna?" She asked in her sophisticated voice.

Still, the Princess of the Night remained silent.

"I'm confused, Princess," Robert continued, "why are you so quiet?"

Letting her fangs extend themselves and letting her eyes turn red, as per vampony condition, Luna stepped into the room and shut the door behind her heavily. She managed to get a round of gasps and shocking sounds from the two newly weds as they began to approach Luna.

"What happened, Princess Luna!?" Rarity squealed.

Princess Luna approached the two of them and quietly told them that it was because of their actions that she too was a vampony now. However, the two unicorns seemed to be dazed and confused.

"How so?" Rarity asked, not missing a single beat.

"I don't remember doing that to you, Princess." added Robert.

"You both did this to me." repeated Luna.

"No offense, Princess Luna," Robert continued, stepping in front of Rarity, "but we didn't do that. If secrets are being poured out right now, Rarity and myself would never transform another pony into a vampony. We promised Twilight that we wouldn't."

"Well," Luna told Robert, "you broke that promise."

"Whoa," Robert panicked, "let's all just calm ourselves down here. We're all vamponies here. I'm sure there's a logical explanation."

"Oh, so it's a logical explanation thou wishes for, is that so?" the princess hammered back. "Here's your logical explanation: The two of you _attacked_ and _bit_ me, _turning_ me into a _vampony_! Does thou not understand it!?"

"But what we're trying to tell you, Princess Luna is that we didn't do this!" Rarity pleaded.

"And we would never harm another pony!" Robert added.

"If thou didn't do this to thy Princess," continued Luna, "then who did?"

The two unicorns stood silently while they looked mindlessly at Luna. She knew that they knew that they did this to her, but they were simply trying to play dumb and pretend that they had no idea what Princess Luna was talking about and that she was now one of them!

"Well?" I impatiently replied. "Who did this?"

Still, they looked at Princess Luna cluelessly. Eventually, Luna figured that if they refused to tell her who was responsible for this, then she'd either lock them up in the Canterlot Dungeons or have Princess Celestia, Prince Lunar, and Twilight Sparkle come in and talk to them, which is what she ended up doing anyway since the two unicorns refused to speak.

"Since thou does not wish to answer my question," Luna told them, "I'll have to take drastic measures...Princess Celestia, Prince Lunar, and Princess Twilight Sparkle will help me decide what to do with you two!"

* * *

As Princess Luna exited the room, I glanced over towards Rarity and wondered, what was Princess Luna talking about. Why was she blaming us for a condition she most likely had before we did? For all I know, it could be Princess Luna who had made Rarity what she and I are today.

"What is her deal, right dear?" I asked Rarity. "Why would she suspect that we were the ones who did that to her?"

"Well..." Rarity started. "We did attack her out of rage, you know..."

"But that wasn't really us..." I replied. "That was the monster inside both of us that was controlling us both...we di-"

" _ _You__ didn't mean to do it," Rarity exclaimed, "I wasn't the one who bit her."

I stood silent, hanging my head down out of shame. Rarity was right...it was my fault Princess Luna became one of us. _I_ was the one who bit her. _I_ was the reason she became a vampony. It was _my_ fault and I should be the one who pays for my mistake, nobody else. Nobody else had to get hurt here, only me...and I was willing to take that sacrifice if it meant that Rarity would be unharmed.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Rarity apologized, "I didn't mean to snap at you like that..."

"It's okay, Rare," I replied, "I know you mean well."

"We're in this together, dear," Rarity told me.

"It's my fault," I explained, "so I should be the only one who pays for my mistake...you shouldn't be punished for something I only did."

"As your wife and Queen, though," continued Rarity, "your problems are my problems and my problems are your problems. We will find a way out of this mess together."

I looked down at my beautiful Rarity and kissed her romantically. I was touched that she wanted to help me out through this tough predicament we've found ourselves in and I was honored that she would stand by my side and defend me, even though I was completely and utterly wrong. She cared about me and my safety and I cared about her and her safety. It was us against regal princesses, our friends, and, most importantly, ourselves. We weren't the ones who lost control of ourselves and attacked Princess Luna. It was the monsters inside both of us that lost control and did that. We couldn't help it...they took over our bodies and forced us to do their dirty work for them, leaving us to take the fall and get blamed upon.

Suddenly, the door to our room burst open and, in the doorway, Princesses Luna and Celestia stood before us, as well as Twilight and Lunar. The two regal princesses stepped forward and appeared to be cross with us, same with Twilight and Lunar, as they also stepped forward and stopped alongside Princesses Celestia and Luna across from us.

"Rarity, Robert," Celestia started, "is it true that you were the ones who did this to Princess Luna?"

"Why, whatever do you mean?" Rarity asked, trying to play it off that we had no idea what they were talking about.

"Don't play innocent with us, Rarity," Twilight shot back.

"That's right," contined Celestia, "Princess Twilight told us all we needed to know about you two and your condition."

"Why did you two do this?" Twilight asked, preparing to break down into tears. Lunar went to comfort her. "You both promised me that you wouldn't harm another pony."

"I...uh...well..." Rarity was unable to find the words to explain ourselves, but I was.

"It was me," I revealed, drawing some wicked glances and mean looks. Rarity started weeping after I said that.

"No, Robert," she sobbed, "please, don't do this."

"What are you talking about?" Princess Celestia asked.

"Explain yourself, Robert!" Princess Luna demanded.

"And you'd better hurry, too," Twilight added.

"We don't have all day." Lunar shot.

"I'm sorry, Rarity," I started, turning towards Lunar and the three princesses that stood before us, preparing to explain myself, "It was I who bit Princess Luna and made her a vampony. I...I just don't know what happened...I lost control. Princess, I'm so very sorry if I have cause you any trouble and, if you must, please spare Rarity. If there is anyone who should be punished here, it is me and only me. Please, don't harm my wife...harm me, because we all know now that I am the one who deserves it most. So go ahead, punish me, harm me, do whatever you want with me. Just promise to me that you won't harm Rarity at all."

I had poured out my heart into that explanation and plea for Rarity's safety. I felt tears begin to form in my eyes, but stopped them from escaping as I bravely stared down Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Prince Lunar, and Twilight. I kept my hooves on the ground and looked into each set of eyes that were glued onto me.

"Please leave her out of it and deal with only me." I requested.

"If that is true," Princess Celestia said, turning towards Rarity, "you are free to go."

"But, Robert-" Rarity called.

"You, however," interrupted Luna, "you are coming with us!"

I felt three strong magical sensations wrap around my body and begin to move me away from Rarity and out of the room we were in. Princesses Celestia and Luna, in accordance with Prince Lunar, escorted me away from Rarity as Twilight dealt with her. Before leaving the room, I managed to look back and mouth to Rarity...

"Goodbye, my dear."

After that, the doors shut behind us and Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Prince Lunar proceeded to take me away. I did not belong here after that little display. They took me far down into the castle in an area similar to the old Canterlot dungeons Rarity and myself were in a while ago. It was very dark and dusty down here and I did not know exactly how far the three royals took me before a metal door had squeaked open in front of us all. The tight and pounding magic aura then jerked forward and into the cell. I heard Princess Celestia whisper something to Princess Luna, I'm assuming, and begin exiting the dungeons. Only one set of hooves was heard, so I knew that Luna and Lunar remained behind.

"You will stay here, locked up for a long, long time!" Princess Luna shouted, tossing me into a dungeon cell harshly with her powerful magic.

"As long as you keep your promise and keep Rarity unharmed," I revolted, "you can keep me here for an eternity! She is the reason my heart beats and she will be waiting for me once I get out!"

"You don't get it, do you?" Princess Luna replied.

I stood silent, having a look on my face of disgust and hopefulness, believe it or not, but mostly of disgust. I cannot believe my favorite Princess was doing this to me.

 **Dumbass, you brought this upon yourself! You're wondering why she's doing this when** _ _ **you're**__ **the reason why? How stupid can you get?**

Shut the fuck up...I'm not in the fucking mood.

 **Language mister.**

Fuck you.

"As alicorns," Princess Luna continued, "we never die! We've been around for thousands of years and you're the one who thinks that we'll let you go and cause more mayhem? You are pathetic! You may think that you are a star out there, but in here you're nothing more than a trapped being!"

"That's where you're wrong!" I defiantly said, slamming my body into the cold, iron bars that separated me from Luna and Lunar.

I slammed into the bars hard, unfortunately not making a single dent in them. Luna saw this and saw how I had hurt myself and had begun laughing! She was laughing! At me!

 **Well, to be honest, you did deserve this type of cruel and unusual punishment.**

How the hell is this cruel and unusual? I'm in a fucking cage for fuck's sake!

 **Not to mention, you were small at one point in time during your...stay here.**

Small...that's it! If I can somehow adjust my size again, I'll be able to escape from these tyrants and see Rarity once more!

 **But don't you think that it will be fishy if they find out that you're trying to escape with tiny size? And even if you did manage to escape, how would you get home? How would you protect yourself from Celestia, Luna, and Lunar? What would you do, huh? Run away with a crucial member of the Elements of Harmony? They can deal with villains without you! But without Rarity!? That's inhumane!**

Your idea was smart, but your word choice is ridiculous! I'll find a way to defend myself from Celestia, Luna, and Lunar if it's the last thing I do! I don't care what it takes anymore...I. Will. Survive!

 **No you won't...you'll be walking into your own deadly grave! The only way you would get away with this and not be noticed was if you fought against either Luna or Lunar in a magic duel.**

That sounds ridiculous, but I'll give that idea a try first.

"You'll be here for a long time, Robert!" Luna shouted again, preparing to leave, probably with Lunar.

"Wait!" I called. "I have a proposition for you!"

That got Luna to stop and turn around to listen to what I had to say. She whispered something to Lunar, probably telling him to go on since I heard hoofsteps continue leaving the dungeon, leaving only Luna and myself alone.

"Go on..." she told me.

 _That's a good sign._ I thought. "Well, I challenge you to a magic duel!"

"What for?" Luna evilly chuckled. "You know that I'm more powerful than you are! After all, I have Nightmare Moon to thank for that and...and now you!"

"So what do you have to lose?" I challenged. "Tell you what: If you win, you can feel free to do whatever you want with me with no penalty. No matter how cruel or unusual the punishment is, you can feel free to do it to me."

"Deal!" Luna replied, unlocking my cage.

"Wait..." I continued, "If I win, you give me a full pardon under the law."

"Robert," Luna continued, "Celestia as my witness, I will defeat you and wipe the floor with you with my magic!"

"Consider yourself history, Luna!" I shouted.

"That's _Princess_ Luna, thou ungrateful whelp!" Luna told me.

"Is that you __only__ insult?" I teased.

"You better watch yourself, Robert," Luna replied, "or I'll call off our little bet."

"My dear," I continued, "I will be the one who will be victorious!"

"In your dreams, little colt!" Luna teased.

"Shall we have our little duel here?" I asked, confidence sounding in my voice.

"No," Luna answered, "we shall duel outside, near the courtyard, for everypony to see!"

"So, you will be defeated in front of all your subjects by a commoner there and be embarrassed in front of everyone!" I replied.

Princess Luna smirked, teleporting us both to the outer courtyard in front of the castle. Outside, Luna managed to draw in a very large crowd. It was overwhelming, but defeating the Princess in a duel is what I was here to do, and was what I was going to accomplish.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Luna started, "be amazed by my power of magic and watch as this commoner attempts to challenge me, Princess Luna, to a magic duel!"

"Oh my," I heard Octavia say.

"This dude can't be serious!" Another voice said.

"Vinyl!" Octavia scolded the pony who said that.

"This is going to prove to be an easy duel for Princess Luna." somebody else stated.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," I stated, trying to redeem my already slandered name, "I will prove to you all that even a commoner can defeat royalty!"

Princess Luna and myself then set ourselves across from each other and prepared to duel each other in the center of the town square.

"You may attack first." Princess Luna told me.

"Only the weak attack first!" I shouted in reply.

"Which is why I told you to go first!" Luna said.

"Fine..." I answered in reply. "But, I will make sure that you will regret that decision!"

I then sent over a beam of magic from my horn towards Princess Luna and our duel was set to begin.

I blasted Princess Luna with some of my magic, thinking that she would jump out of the way or teleport away so that she could protect herself. Instead, she stood stationary and allowed my magic beams to strike her down. What really surprised me was that my magic seemed to have little to no effect on the Princess of the Night.

"Oh," Vinyl said, "this dude is gonna lose!"

"Vinyl!" Octavia snapped.

"Is that the best you've got?" Princess Luna teased. "How pathetically weak...and you're supposed to be the Element of Happiness?"

"This Element holder won't go down without a fight!" I claimed.

"You're the weakest Element of them all!" Luna shouted, blasting me with a beam of magic from her own horn.

I managed to dodge the direct beam, but did take some unusual splash damage, which did do a toll on me. If the damage I got dealt was only from splash damage, imagine how much pain I'd be in if it were the direct attack!

"Just give up already!" Luna stated. "It's a lost cause..."

"Never," I defiantly answered, "as an Element holder, we never take defeat as an answer! I will fight my best until the very end!"

"And the end is just in the line of vision." Luna claimed, shooting a wide beam of magic at me.

This beam hit me directly and did a ton of damage to my body. I had fallen to the ground and tried getting back up, but found that task to be much harder than what it seemed to be. Princess Luna had stepped forward and put a hoof on top of my neck, seconds away from claiming victory. I looked over my shoulder and saw Luna prepare for a particularly rather magic beam to hit me with.

 _ _One last shot...__

I placed all my strength into my horn and blasted Luna with a surprise beam, sending her flying off of my body and far away towards the other side of the circle that had surrounded itself around us. This gave me time to finally stand back up, but my four knees were severely weak. I trembled before the might of this insanely powerful alicorn and was struggling to stay up, though I had gone way too far beyond my limits and unfortunately collapsed on the ground again. Luna saw this and slowly approached me, deciding to embarrass me in front of everyone who had crowded around.

"This, everypony," started Luna, "is the biggest reason why you don't act out against your rulers, for if you do, this will certainly happen to you as well. This local commoner thought that he could defeat a pony that had much more experience with magic than he did, and look at him now! He can't even stand on his own hooves anymore! Take this as a learning experience as to how powerful Princess Celestia and I really are as well as my former pupil, Prince Lunar."

I closed my eyes, preparing myself for one final blow. I was down, but most certainly not out. I may not have as much experience with magic as Luna does, but if there is one thing that Twilight taught me, it's how to take someone else's magic and make it your own, meaning, if someone hits you with some kind of magic, you can take it and make it something else. I knew that Princess Luna was going to blast me with magic, so I prepared myself to transform that magic into a size reduction spell and a healing spell.

"This is where it all ends, Robert!" Luna stated, putting her hoof on my neck once more.

 _ _Indeed it is.__

 _Luna's aura started encasing her horn as she charged up her magic slowly._

 _And in five...four...three...two...one..._

Luna's magic was released from her horn and pelted my body and, as it hit me, it was being transformed into what I wanted to do. I began to feel stronger, and I also began to feel my size change. I was growing stronger and was shrinking at the same time!

"Oh, no you don't!" Princess Luna shouted, towering over me and overshadowing my entire body.

Her hoof came crashing down as I managed to get out of the way just in time. While I was trying to be located, I took this opportunity to run away and try and locate Rarity. I figured that she still must be back in the room we were given, so I decided to hustle over there first and check that out. If she wasn't there, then it would be best to try and search for her back home in Ponyville.

 **Umm, you have one slight problem brainy...**

And what's that?

 **Well, it's just that you're small...and you have three, possibly four princesses to worry about, not to mention the other Element holders and Lunar, if they found out who you really are and what you really did.**

I'll take care of that once the time comes, but right now, I need to get the hell out of here before Luna spots me!

I ran away as fast as I could, fortunately finding a large hole in the crowd and running towards it. Behind that hole was a dense forest – the forest from last night, to be specific – and I decided to spend some time there until the crowd disperses. I felt the ground shake and tremble, so I gave a quick look to whatever was behind me and noticed that Princess Luna had spotted me and was making her way over towards me and, based off of how fast she was going, she appeared as if she wanted to crush me to death! I sprinted my heart out to get to the forest, fortunately making it there in one piece and diving deep into some secondary bushes and shrubs. Princess Luna attempted to locate me, but after an hour of searching for a tiny pony in these big shrubs and bushes, it was becoming more and more of a lost cause.

After a while, she ceased the search and traveled back to the castle. The other members of the crowd that were left also dispersed and I decided to stay put for a while longer and keep my guards up, for I was now a wanted criminal in the large, prestigious capital city of Canterlot.

* * *

Seven hours have come and gone and I can confidently say that I am all alone now. I arose from the bush and ran away as fast as my tiny hooves would carry me and my body. I figured that searching for Rarity in the Canterlot castle was a lost cause, so I headed straight for the train station in order to board the next train back to Ponyville.

Along the way, I had a couple of close calls, nearly getting crushed by a handful of ponies of all kind. I couldn't let that bother me since I was a fugitive now, though I really would've liked having a little time to scold every single pony that tried to unknowingly kill me.

 **There it is, buddy, the train station! You're almost out of this fucking mess.**

Almost, but not just yet.

I felt the ground tremble and shake vigorously as I got closer to the train station. In the distance, a train was coming. I sprinted as fast as I could in order to catch it, fortunately making it on board just as the doors were closing themselves.

I hid underneath a nearby seat and decided to keep it cool and stay low for the time being. After a while, other ponies started entering the coach I was in and a couple of ponies eventually sat on top of the seat I was hiding underneath for dear life. They began chatting away, and I began to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"So where exactly are we headed to?" One of them asked.

That voice sounded oddly familiar...I've heard that voice somewhere before...

"Princess Twilight requested our appearance in Ponyville in order to help out with the investigation of that pony we saw earlier who was defeated by Princess Luna, Vinyl." Another familiar sounding voice stated.

"So Twilight knows about this mess, huh?" I quietly spoke.

"I don't see what the big deal is here, Octy," Vinyl replied back, "after all, the dude got beaten and probably won't be anywhere near here after that display."

"That may be true, Vinyl," continued Octavia, "but Rarity is back in Ponyville as well and he may try to see her again."

"What does Rare have to do with this?" Vinyl questioned.

"Her name is Rarity, Vinyl," snapped Octavia, "and Rarity is that pony's wife. They had just recently gotten married and I played my cello in their ceremony."

"So he may be trying to get some lovin' with Rare then, huh?" Vinyl said.

"I suppose if that's your way of saying that he wants to see her again," Octavia sighed, "then I suppose so."

The two continued chatting away while I tuned out and decided weighing my options down heavily. If I saw Rarity, there would be a slight possibility that I would get captured by Twilight herself. However, if I didn't, then...then...I don't know...but I don't want to find out about it either.

"Ponyville Train Station!" The conductor shouted.

I waited for the train to completely stop moving before bolting out of the door and back home. I figured that it would be best if I waited for Rarity to come home instead of getting myself tangled in another mess again.

I sprinted to the Carousel Boutique and squeezed my way under the door and inside the home. I looked around inside and was completely thankful that Opalescence was nowhere to be seen. I had taken this rare opportunity and ran up to our room, hoping to wait for Rarity in our bed.

The door was open, but the room was dark. I walked into the room foolishly and found out that I had stepped foot into a trap...

"We got you now!" screamed Twilight.

I found out that I had become surrounded by my friends...Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Twilight. Rarity was nowhere to be seen and I tried reasoning my best with these five gigantic ponies...

 **Robert, I knew thee well...**

Shut up, I ain't dead yet!

"Twilight, please!" I pleaded.

"No, that's it!" Twilight barked.

"You have had one too many chances to prove yourself!" Rainbow Dash added.

"Please, Rainbow," Twilight snapped, "let me deal with him."

"Please...I promise that-"

"You promise what?" Twilight interrupted. "You've already made a few promises and look where that has gotten you!"

"But-"

"But nothing!" Twilight screamed.

I gulped.

"I told you that if I felt that you were breaking your promises, that I would make you pay," continued Twilight, "which is what I plan on doing right here and now!"

Twilight wrapped her magic aura around my body and quickly and rapidly brought me up to her face. She opened her mouth and started dangling me above it, claiming that I had this coming for a long time now.

"Please, Twilight!" I yelped. "I'm sorry! I promise that I'll change! Just please...have mercy on my soul! I'm sorry, Twilight! I'm sorry!"

"That's Princess Twilight for your information!" Twilight shouted as she dropped me into her mouth.

I tried my best fighting my way out, but Twilight's muscles inside her mouth were forcing me down her throat...

"Good riddance." I heard Rainbow Dash say through the walls of Twilight's stomach.

I had dropped into Twilight's stomach after being forced down her throat. It was then that her acidic juices were damaging my skin and killing me slowly. To be honest, I had gotten what I deserved. I was a criminal the entire time I was here, helping save Equestria just once, but coming close to certain death plenty of times.

* * *

"Good riddance!" Rainbow Dash spoke.

"Ah thought that he was humble and modest..." Applejack added.

"Well you thought wrong apparently." snapped Rainbow Dash.

Twilight felt her stomach grumble and heard it make some noise. She figured that Robert was being digested inside of her, which was a light punishment based off of what he did to Princess Luna and the kingdom of Canterlot. He deserved a more harsh punishment, but being eaten was the worst she could do at the current moment.

"And that was totally awesome how you dealt with him, Twilight." Rainbow Dash praised.

"Thanks, Rainbow," Twilight replied, "though I really wish I could have punished him more harshly than I did...being eaten was too light of a punishment..."

"But it sure looked fun eating him, right?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Did he taste like chicken or like chocolate? Ooh, ooh! Did he taste like a chocolate chicken!?"

"Umm, no, Pinkie," Twilight answered sheepishly, "just a lot of crunching bones."

"Bones cracking..." Fluttershy shivered. "Didn't that hurt you?"

"Oddly, not really." said Twilight.

"Just one question, Twi," Applejack continued.

"And what's that, Applejack?"

"How are we gonna explain this to Rarity?" She responded.

Neither Twilight nor the others actually thought of that; how were they going to explain this to Rarity? After all, Rarity loved him and helped shape him into who he was.

 _What will she do if she found out that her husband was eaten alive?_ She thought to herself. _And by me, no less!_

After thinking it over for a while, Twilight finally answered Applejack's question. "I...I don't know."

"We could say that he was locked up in the Canterlot dungeons." Pinkie Pie suggested.

"We all know that this is true." Rainbow Dash chimed.

"It does seem to make the most logical sense, Pinkie," agreed Twilight, "but if we tell her that, she'll probably go search for him."

"Search for who?"

Stunned by the new voice, the five friends all turned their attention towards the doorway that led into the bedroom. Rarity was standing before them all and looked a tad confused as to what they all were talking about.

"Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed. "I...I..."

"Don't worry, darling," Rarity replied, "I'm quite all right. Have any of you ladies seen Robert? I haven't heard from him these last few hours...have any of you heard from him?"

The five other Element holders all exchanged looks of uneasiness with each other, all of which managed to backtrack back to Twilight. She sighed, letting Rarity know the "truth."

"Princess Luna locked up Robert in the Canterlot dungeons, Rarity," Twilight told Rarity, "that's where he is."

"But I was just there and Princess Luna and Princess Celestia alerted me that he has escaped!" Rarity noted. "They told me they had sent Lunar out to search for him, but I figured that he would rush straight back here so he could see me once more."

"Umm..."

"Am I missing something here, Twilight?" Rarity asked, her fangs extending themselves out a bit.

"No," Twilight lied, "no you're not! R-right girls?"

"Nope." Rainbow Dash smirked.

"Nuh-uh." added Applejack.

"I don't think so..." Fluttershy squeaked.

"Totally not!" smiled Pinkie Pie.

"Well," continued Rarity, "if you hear from Robert, let him know that I'm here waiting for him. Now if you'll excuse me, I do require some sleep. I'll see you all in the morning."

"Goodnight, Rarity." The friends simultaneously spoke as they left her room.

"Goodnight, everypony." Rarity replied.

Twilight and the others left Rarity's home quickly and all glanced towards each other once they were a safe distance away from her. She sighed and looked back towards Rarity's bedroom window, seeing the light flicker off.

"How do we explain that I ate him?" Twilight asked nopony in particular.

"That's a touchy subject that I don't want any part of." Fluttershy claimed.

"Now, now, Fluttershy," Twilight claimed, "you're just as part of this as we are. You saw me eat him..."

Fluttershy looked away and slowly nodded.

"We're all in this together," continued Twilight, "whether we want to be, or not."

"Alright, everypony," Applejack said, "we need tuh improvise here. How do we let Rarity know what happened to Robert without breakin' her lil heart?"

The five thought about that for a long time. Unfortunately, no good ideas were tossed around, just heart breaking ones. Twilight knew that they sounded good now for the short run, but in the long run, it would destroy Rarity's heart. When all hope seemed lost and nothing else came to mind, it was unanimously agreed to let Rarity know that Robert has passed.

"Passed?" questioned Rainbow Dash.

"Well," Twilight started, "it is true, in a way. To pass means that he could have died. If we leave it at "Robert has passed," it leaves the door open to plenty of explanations. None of those logical explanations are correct, seeing how he passed through my stomach, but he did still pass."

"That sounds weird." claimed Rainbow.

"Weird," added Applejack, "but it jus' night work!"

"It sounds like a logical explanation, right Pinkie?" Fluttershy chipped in.

"I have no idea." Pinkie Pie playfully said.

"So that'll be it." confirmed Twilight. "Our way of telling Rarity that Robert has died is by telling her that "Robert has passed." We'll tell her first thing we see her tomorrow morning."

"Sounds like a plan, Twi." Applejack praised.

"Thank you, Applejack," she continued, "now I must be going. I am really exhausted and want to get some much needed sleep. I'll see you all tomorrow!"

"Goodnight, Twilight." They all told her.

"Goodnight, girls." replied Twilight as she proceeded to go back home and rest up for the night.

Once she was far away from everypony so that she was the only one who could hear myself talk, Twilight began wondering to herself if that explanation will work and Rarity won't be left heartbroken. Lifting her front left hoof towards her stomach, Twilight gently touched it, feeling around and trying to ease her choice. It felt weird to her because she swore that she could feel some kicking near the area she felt.

"Kicking?" questioned Twilight, drawing an unusual conclusion. "Robert's still alive!"

* * *

The next day, Twilight pushed to call everyone into her home. She honestly didn't know why she waited so long to let the others know that Robert was still alive inside of her, or even how that was scientifically possible for that matter, but she alerted the others to come see me as soon as they could, getting each of them, minus Rarity, to come to her home within minutes.

"What's the matter, Twilight?" Applejack asked curiously.

"It's Robert," Twilight replied, "he's still alive!"

"That's wonderful!" Fluttershy claimed.

"No it's not," Rainbow Dash revolted, "it's horrible!"

"Rainbow's right, Fluttershy," heeded Twilight, "it is horrible because he's alive, inside of me. If we were to magically extract him from my stomach, he'd surely tell Rarity everything that has happened to him, making us look like the villains."

"So what do we do?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Can't you perform some kind of spell that erases his memory?" Rainbow Dash added.

"No..." answered Twilight. "My magic can only help ponies remember things, not forget them..."

"What about Princess Celestia?" asked Applejack.

"What about her?" Twilight added.

"Well," responded Applejack, "her magic is the most powerful of any pony, right?"

"Right," answered Twilight, "but what...does...that have to do...?"

Twilight didn't even need to finish her question, for she knew exactly what Applejack was suggesting. Thinking about it vigorously and heavily, Twilight decided that it would be best to visit Princess Celestia on the matter. Moments later, however, Twilight immediately went back on that idea and concluded that seeing the Princess of the Day should be our last thing on their list to perform, should everything else fail.

"Robert is a fugitive and an escaped criminal from the kingdom of Canterlot," Twilight reminded everyone, "if we brought him there, Rarity would never see him again."

"So, what do we do?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"All we can do now is get him out of me." suggested Twilight.

"Is that really a good idea right now?" Fluttershy wondered.

"It's one of the last things I want to do," Twilight claimed, "but we don't have plenty of options. If he stays inside of me any longer...he may die inside of me."

Sighing slightly, Twilight collectively stopped her nerves, just like her sister-in-law, Princess Cadance, taught her. She looked back at her friends and proceeded to ask them a very, very important question.

"I will magically remove him from inside of me and increase his height enough so that holding him down will be easy." Twilight told them. "I need you all to promise that you will help hold Robert down...can you do that for me?"

"Of course, Twilight." Applejack replied.

"Sure thing, Twi!" Rainbow Dash added.

"I'll try..." squeaked Fluttershy.

"Totally!" finished Pinkie.

Twilight smiled slightly, thankful that her friends would help her out. "Thank you, all of you. Now please be careful...this is somepony else we're dealing with here you know..."

"Whaddya mean, Twilight?" Applejack asked.

"We are dealing with an escaped criminal and, to top it all of, a vampony." Twilight alerted them. "I'm afraid that he'll try to bite one of you, so I need you all to be extremely careful...promise me that you will do your best to hold him down and stay safe."

"We promise, Twilight." The four friends answered back in unison.

"Thank you," Twilight replied.

Twilight then planted her hooves on the ground and allowed her magic to embrace her horn in its awestruck, magenta colored aura. She closed her eyes and needed to get deep down inside of her – no pun intended – to trace her teleportation spell for use on other ponies, a spell she doesn't really use much too often. Within a few moments, Twilight managed to trace the spell and thought about her target, Robert. For a teleportation spell to work, for those who don't have magic or do not understand what true magic – unicorn and/or alicorn magic – can truly do, the unicorn – or alicorn, depending on who is performing the spell – needs three things: the target or a visual of the target, a visual of the destination, and magic that surpasses beyond the average unicorn. Unicorns who lack in the superior knowledge of magic can perform this type of spell, but upon completion, the spell leaves them completely drained of their magic, and, in case none of you intelligent, complex looking ponies know, it takes a long time for magic to recharge itself.

Twilight thought hard about her target, Robert, and began casting the spell. She felt something lift up from inside of her stomach and suddenly teleport away to a spot that the others were surrounding tightly. Twilight also immediately casted a growth spell and increased Robert's height so that it would be easier for them to hold him down. She didn't make him his normal height, just about half of his original size, the size of a little filly such as Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle, to be more exact.

"Now, Robert," Twilight began, "we have to talk."

Robert appeared to be against the talking, struggling mightily to break the grasps that mainly Rainbow Dash and Applejack had on him, unable to do so though. He coldly stared at Twilight before saying something at long last.

"Let. Me. Go!" he yelled, extending his fangs rapidly.

"Hurry up, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"It's getting' hard to hold 'em down!" added Applejack.

"I'll make it as quick and easy as possible." Twilight told them, paying her attention back towards Robert. "We don't want to stretch this out too long now, do we?"

"You let me go!" He yelled again.

"No," answered Twilight, "not now...not yet."

She approached Robert slowly and gave him the best evil impersonation she could do, trying her best to scare him silly.

"You don't scare me, you know." Robert coldly said.

"Then let's fix that up," Twilight replied, eyes half-shut and smirking slightly.

"Let me go!" Robert hissed, eyes becoming red.

"Why should we?" she asked, actually wanting to hear his defense.

"Because...I have rights, too!" He shouted back.

"Maybe back home you did," Twilight coldly replied, "but you don't understand fully how Equestria works with our way of laws and services."

"This is inhumane!" Robert continued.

" _ _You're__ inhumane!" snapped Twilight.

" _ _You__ are inhumane, Twilight!" He shot back.

"That's __Princess__ Twilight for your information" she told him. "Plus, __you__ are inhumane since _you_ were the one who _infected_ Princess Luna, thanks to _your_ actions! _You_ should be the last one who should be putting the blame on anypony else! Thanks to _you,_ we now have a vampony as a \ _princess_!"

"You should've done a better job preparing for this kind of thing!" Robert claimed. "You've all been living with one for a long time! Now, when there is now _two_ of us to deal with, _I'm_ the bad guy?"

"We never had to prepare for something like this since Rarity promised us that she would never harm another pony!" Twilight spoke.

"And I'm not a part of that?" Robert shot back. "After all, I was just like you before! Now, I'm like Rarity! I hope that you can put two-and-two together, Twilight."

" _ _Princess__ _T_ wilight!" Twilight snapped again.

"I'm sorry," Robert disgustingly replied, " _ _Princess__ Twilight, I do hope that you can put two-and-two together."

"Is that and insult?" Twilight muffled.

Robert looked up at the petite princess and stared into her lilac colored eyes, smiling falsely. "No," he hissed, "it's not."

"Watch yourself." Twilight warned, embracing her horn with her magenta aura. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to you now, right?"

"Let...me...go!" Robert shouted, struggling mightily to break himself free.

"Not until you get something straight first!" Twilight shot back.

Twilight actually tried reasoning with Robert about their little predicament they were all currently in. She tried her best but ultimately began to lose control of the situation once Robert began flailing himself heavily, breaking free from Rainbow Dash's grasp. He shuffled Applejack as well and looked right at Twilight and began charging her, fangs extended and eyes colored demonically red.

"Twilight! Look out!"

Twilight fortunately managed to teleport herself away from Robert's attack. However, what she completely forgot was that she had been standing in front of the door the entire time. Robert took this opportunity and ran right out of Twilight's home, probably in search for Rarity. Twilight reappeared next to Applejack and gave them all a quick glance.

"We've got to stop him!" she alerted them, though they already knew this.

"Come on, y'all!" Applejack added.

The five ponies ran out of Twilight's home and after Robert as fast as their hooves would allow them to go. Rainbow Dash flew at a blazingly fast speed as the rest of the group ran after Robert. They could see Robert in the distance, but none of them seemed to be catching up with him. Instead, he seemed to be getting away from them. Twilight looked up at Rainbow Dash and requested that she go on ahead and slow Robert down.

"I'm on it!" Rainbow Dash shouted, flying off ahead, hoping to stop him in his tracks.

"We have to beat Robert to Rarity's home!" Twilight called out to the others.

"But he's faster than us!" claimed Fluttershy, panting for some needed air.

"That doesn't mean that we can't beat him there," she replied, "now let's hustle everypony! Applejack, Pinkie Pie, keep chasing Robert with Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy and I will fly over to Rarity and hopefully beat Robert there."

"Sure thing, Twi!" Applejack assured, running up ahead along with Pinkie Pie.

"Come on Fluttershy," Twilight called out, "let's fly to Rarity's."

"I'd much prefer flying rather than running, Twilight." Fluttershy told me. "Thank you..."

"Don't thank me yet!" replied Twilight as they took off into the skies for the Carousel Boutique.

Looking down while we were in the skies, Twilight noticed that Rainbow Dash had started gaining some ground on Robert while Applejack and Pinkie Pie were slowly but surely falling behind. Rainbow Dash made an attempt to tackle Robert down, but missed and lost all of her momentum that she had. She hit the ground hard and caused Applejack and Pinkie Pie to trip over her, leaving Robert all by himself. Now, it was a race between Robert the vampire, Fluttershy, and Princess Twilight to Rarity's home.

"Come on, Fluttershy," called Twilight, "we need to pick up the pace. Double time, go!"

"I'm not sure I can go faster, Twilight!" Fluttershy replied.

"You can do it, Fluttershy," Twilight heeded, trying to motivate the timid yellow Pegasus, "I know you can!"

"I can't, Twilight!" she shouted.

"You can!" Twilight assured her. "Rest up once we get to Rarity's home!"

The two flew as fast as they could, hoping that they could beat out Robert to the Carousel Boutique and, by the looks of it, it definitely appeared like it was going to be one close race. Up ahead in the distance was the destination, the Carousel Boutique. Down below Twilight and Fluttershy, they saw that Robert was just behind them.

 _He may be smaller than the two of us, but he sure is fast for a vampire..._ Twilight thought to herself.

"Twilight, look out!" called Fluttershy.

"Wha-?"

Twilight crashed into the top bedroom window of Rarity's home, probably beating Robert to Rarity. She hit Rarity's bedroom wall hard and nearly passed out on impact, eyes dazed and head feeling light. Shaking her head furiously, Twilight managed to pull herself back together, just as Fluttershy entered the room. A distraught Rarity was glancing at both Twilight and Fluttershy cold and hard, a bit angered at them for crash landing in her bedroom.

"Can I hel...?"

"Rarity!" Robert called out.

 _ _Great...__ thought Twilight, __we made it here at the same time...__

"Robert!" Rarity called out, embracing him in a loving hug.

"Rarity!" Robert replied, kissing Rarity on her lips.

"Robert," Rarity started again, "why are you smaller now?"

"The reasons stand before you, dear." Robert said.

"Who?" questioned Rarity. "Them?"

"Yes, them!" Robert claimed.

"Twilight?" Rarity called, turning towards Fluttershy and myself. "Is that true?"

"Well," Twilight chuckled uncomfortably, "you see...there's a funny story to that."

"Care to explain it then, Twilight?" Rarity asked, a bit annoyed.

Twilight uncomfortably chuckled again, looking over to the rest of her friends that have just arrived and ran through the door at that very second.

"Twi...light!" Rainbow Dash gasped.

"I know," Twilight replied, "Robert is here in front of us."

"Explain yourself, Twilight!" Rarity ordered. "From one royal pony to another, I want you to explain your actions to me right now."

Twilight looked back at Rarity and gave her a look and a speech she really wished she could take back.

"First off, Rarity," Twilight began, "you are not the same royal pony I am. You are a unicorn, nothing more. Now, as a vampony, you are a Queen, which I'm fine with yourself considering that. A vampony and an alicorn are nowhere near the same level in social class statures. I am far above you, though I hate saying that. As for Robert, I was going to keep this from you, but you've left me with no choice. Robert here is an escaped criminal from Canterlot. As it states in my royal duties, I must return Robert to his prison back in Canterlot, whether you like it or not!"

"Way to...go, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash praised, still collecting some needed air.

Rarity stared heavily back at Twilght, obviously annoyed by this troubled nonsense. Twilight wasn't sure how Rarity would handle her speech and declaration, so she kept her guard up enormously. She needed to since she herself had no royal guards of her own to protect her here in Ponyville and while Prince Lunar was away, looking for the same pony that was currently in front of them. Then again, it was Twilight's idea to not have royal guards. Spike was plenty of help here and, though he may still be a baby dragon, he can definitely defend himself as well as me, so can Prince Lunar, especially now since he lives with Twilight and Spike.

"Rarity," Twilight said after some tense silence, "Robert is coming with me."

"No," Rarity replied, "I forbid you from taking one of my subjects away from me!"

"He's my subject, Rarity," Twilight answered, "as are you. Now, as your Princess, I am telling you to hand Robert over to me."

"No."

"I'll ask nicely once more," Twilight replied, growing a tad more annoyed, "give me Robert. Now."

"No."

"To each their own," Twilight stated, paying her attention back towards Robert, "Robert, you're coming with me now."

Rarity shot a look up and had her fangs extended and her eyes had become red like Robert's. She started hissing at Twilight, which was unusual since nobody in the room ever heard Rarity make that sound before. She started charging at Twilight, so Twilight jumped immediately out of the way, managing to get away from Rarity. The others ran over, crowding around Twilight, helping her fight back Rarity and Robert. The two vamponies tried surrounding the five ponies, eventually pushing them into corner of the room. The two vamponies slowly approached the five as they all hugged the corner as much as they could, hoping to find some strength so that Twilight could teleport all of them directly to safety.

"Now, Twilight," a demonic Rarity started, "you know how much I cherish our friendship, seeing how we've done almost everything together. But, this is where I draw the line. You threatened to take away Robert from me, a fellow Element holder. I will make you pay for that, friend or not. I'm sorry it had to be this way!"

"This is payback for eating me yesterday!" Robert added.

"You'll have to get through us if you want to get to Twilight!" Rainbow Dash defended.

At that moment, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Twilight pounced on Rarity and Robert and exchanged a few punches while Pinkie Pie tended to Fluttershy, who was scared beyond belief. Fighting for a while, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack all grew tired after some time. Everything they did, Rarity and Robert took well, showing little signs of fatigue in their expressions.

Then, Robert punched Twilight hard, sending her flying to the other side of the room, while Rarity did the same to Rainbow Dash and Applejack when they were caught off guard. Again, Rarity and Robert approached the collapsed Twilight and threatened her yet again.

"Now," Robert smirked, "it finishes here."

Twilight covered up her face as she heard hooves clacking against the floor. She tried her best trying to find the strength to teleport herself away with all of her friends, but could not do so. She quivered up even more, preparing herself for her inevitable doom. She couldn't run away to safety either, for Rarity and Robert were both faster than she was.

 _ _CRASH!__

 _ _What was that?__ _Twilight_ thought to myself.

Opening her eyes, Twilight saw that Princess Luna had crashed into the room, positioning herself right in front of Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. Princess Luna was protecting them from Rarity and Robert.

"Step aside, Luna!" Rarity ordered.

"Nay!" replied Luna. "Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends need help, thus I am here to provide it!"

"How did you know, Princess Luna?" Twilight asked.

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both sensed that you were in danger, so Luna came as fast as she could, hoping to help." Lunar explained, flying through the window at that moment, seemingly out of breath.

"Lunar!" Luna cautioned. "Watch out and stay behind me. Make sure Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends are all safe."

"Will do," Lunar smirked, teleporting to the other side of the room, covering Twilight.

"Luna," Rarity continued, "as your Queen, I order you to stand aside! Twilight must get what is coming to her!"

"As your Princess, I forbid thee from hurting Princess Twilight!" Luna defended.

"Very well then," replied Rarity, "then you leave me no choice."

Rarity and Robert then attacked Princess Luna while Lunar tended to Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. Rarity was trying to forcefully get rid of Princess Luna and finish Twilight off, but Luna wouldn't let that happen.

 _If Princess Luna came to help me,_ Twilight thought, _then it's only fair that I help her while she needs me most of all._

"Princess Luna," Twilight shouted once Lunar finished checking up on her, "allow me to help!"

"I shall not allow that, Twilight!" Robert responded, redirecting his attention from Princess Luna to Twilight, charging straight at her.

"Twilight!" Lunar called, reaching out in an attempt to stop her, but missing completely as Twilight charged towards Robert. He got up and also charged at Robert.

Now, Twilight and Lunar were in a fight for their lives with Robert. Twilight had to fight him off in order to stay natural and not become one of them, though that itself was a tough task. Twilight and Lunar were both up against Robert, who had super strength to go with his condition. As Twilight neared him, Robert tossed her aside as if she were a piece of paper. He tossed her with ease, slamming her into a wall, upon which Twilight's eyes shut, trying to endure the pain, though seemed to have little to no luck in doing so. Lunar, petrified that Twilight was badly hurt, then took a jab at Robert, to which Robert tossed him aside as well, but not as easily as Twilight. Lunar, finding his new center of balance, began charging at Robert once more, firing a beam of alicorn magic at him in the process. Robert, smirking in the process, took the beam with ease, then tackled Lunar, sending him flying through the wall and out into the hallway. Lunar managed to cover his head through the first wall, but was knocked out unconscious upon hitting the second wall with his horn, chipping it slightly.

Meanwhile, back in the room, Princess Luna saw that both Twilight and Lunar were both defeated, throwing her off pace slightly. She called out to Twilight to see if she was fine.

"Princess Twilight!" Luna shouted, leaving herself open to attack, which Rarity gladly accepted.

Princess Luna screamed out in pain as Rarity attacked her. Rainbow Dash and Applejack, as well as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie heard a fairly large sound smash against the floor and watched Princess Luna collapse to the ground. Finding bits of strength inside themselves, they collectively stood up and tackled Rarity and Robert.

"Really now?" smirked Robert.

"Do you all think that you can overpower us?" added Rarity.

"Stop this, Rarity," cried Applejack.

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie remarked. "Somepony might get hurt!"

"Exactly!" Robert laughed as both he and Rarity tossed aside the remaining four ponies.

This hit, though it wasn't as strong as Twilight's hit, managed to ground the four remaining ponies, allowing Rarity and Robert to pay their attention back towards Twilight. They approached the collapsed Twilight and towered over her body.

"Such a shame it had to come to this, darling," Rarity smirked triumphantly.

"Now hold still, Twilight." Robert stated. "You won't feel a thing."

* * *

"Right there!" Robert yelled, driving his fangs into Twilight's neck.

Twilight screamed out in pain, feeling blood ooze itself out of her body. The feeling of blood dripping from her, the feeling of teeth inside of her, the feeling of betrayal, the feeling of defeat, the feeling of abandonment, the feeling of being at the hooves of demons all ran through Twilight's head the moment Robert bit into her neck.

Soon after, Twilight felt the transformation start, and she tried her best to overcome this and stop said transformation, but her internal sobbing and external crying forbade that. Within minutes, Twilight fell to the likes of vamponies and was now becoming a blood thirsty psychopath!

 _What do I do?_ Twilight thought. _What do I do? How will Princess Celestia react to this? What about Princess Luna? Was she all right? And my Lunar? Is he fine too?_

"Rarity..." Twilight sadly started, fighting the tears. "Robert..."

"You brought this upon yourself, Twilight!" Robert shouted in reply.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way, Twilight," added Rarity, "but you forced us to do this to you!"

"Y-you...penetrated me." stammered Twilight.

"And now, you're one of us." Robert concluded.

"Princess Luna..." Twilight said, looking over to her, noticing that her body was on the floor. She then called out to the defeated Lunar, whom was still unconscious out in the hallway.

"Erm, uh, do-don't worry about them, Twilight." Robert said.

"Princess Luna and Prince Lunar are just fine." Rarity claimed.

 _You liar!_ thought Twilight.

Twilight got up, thanks to her incredible new strength and slowly approached Princess Luna. As she got closer, she realized that something was wrong with the Princess of the Night - she wasn't breathing; She wasn't breathing and her mane wasn't moving like it normally does.

"What did you do to the Princess!?" Twilight barked.

"Relax, Twilight," Robert answered in response.

"Relax?" reiterated Twilight. "Relax!? What in the hoof is wrong with you!? I will not relax after what you have done to me and to Princess Luna!"

"It's okay, Twilight!" Rarity tried explaining.

"No it is not!" Twilight shot back. "It is far from okay, you hear me!? She is not moving! Don't you realize what you've done!? You've killed one of the royal ponies of Equestria!"

"Twilight," Rarity started, "look again."

"Why should I!?" Twilight snapped. "All I know is that you'll show me a dead body, you mentally incapacitated freaks!"

"Twilight," Robert started, "look behind you."

"I'm fine, Princess Twilight." Twilight heard a voice say, a voice that sounded like Princess Luna's voice.

That got her to turn around and notice that Princess Luna was indeed fine. Twilight was amazed and shocked at how she was standing before me as if nothing had happened to her!

"But...I...how?"

"Vamponies heal a lot quicker from their injuries, Twilight," Luna explained, "I learned that...in an interesting way, let's say."

Twilight was still shocked and amazed at how Luna stood before her with no physical injuries appearing on her. Rarity and Robert explained it to Twilight that vamponies heal substantially faster than normal ponies, but she still could not believe it.

"One might want to check on how Prince Lunar is doing, Princess Twilight." Princess Luna exclaimed.

"Lunar!" Twilight remembered, running out of the room to check on her Prince.

Meanwhile, in the room, Rarity and Robert were both aware of the situation and continued on with their plans.

"Now that we have two Princesses as vamponies," Robert started, "we can-"

"We can alert Princess Celestia of this travesty!" interrupted Rarity.

"My sister!" Princess Luna shouted, rushing over to Twilight. "Twilight, we must travel to Canterlot to alert her of your new condition. As for Rarity and Robert, we'll explain that this was an overnight occurrence and explain that we don't know where they fled to."

"But what about Lunar?" Twilight hesitated.

"I shall send for a medical pony to help him and your friends at once, Princess Twilight," Luna told her, "we don't have much time to spare."

"I...If you say so, Luna..." Twilight replied, still hesitant about leaving Lunar and her friends behind.

"Come, Princess Twilight!" Luna said. "We must go."

Twilight nodded and followed Princess Luna out of the Carousel Boutique and up into the skies. Something just didn't seem right, however, and was bothering Twilight to a heavy degree.

 _It was as if this little scenario was scripted,_ Twilight contemplated to herself, _not real at all, in other words._

She eventually decided to bring this up to Princess Luna's attention as they flew through the skies together towards Canterlot.

"Princess Luna?" started Twilight.

"Yes, Princess Twilight?" She replied.

"Something doesn't seem right, right?" Twilight said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, doesn't it seem strange how those two are targeting Princesses such as you and I?" questioned Twilight.

"Perhaps it is just sheer coincidence." Luna answered.

"But when you came to help me," responded Twilight, "Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were also there, but they didn't seem as if they were out to bring much harm to them like me. Then there is Lunar..."

"I do remember them tossing Prince Lunar aside and through a wall, remember?" Luna pointed out.

"...that's true," Twilight heeded, "but still...they only seemed interested in turning me into a vampony and not Lunar."

"Perhaps mares such as you and I are stronger than stallions in this particular state," Luna explained, "perhaps that is why there is only one stallion that is a vampony and not two."

"But still," Twilight continued, "Lunar is an alicorn whereas Robert is a unicorn. I can safely assume that Lunar is far stronger than Robert is."

"Maybe as normal ponies," Luna advised, "but as a vampony, Robert might exceed Prince Lunar's physical abilities tenfold."

"I...guess that makes sense." Twilight spoke.

The remainder of the flight was solemnly silent. The two princess arrived in Canterlot a few minutes later and flew straight to the throne room in the Canterlot Castle. Upon flying through one of the retractable windows, they both saw Princess Celestia sitting atop her throne and tending to some papers as well. Once they entered the room, Celestia politely put down the papers and focused her attention on Princess Luna and Twilight.

"Twilight," Celestia started, "how are you?"

"Not too good, Princess Celestia." Twilight replied.

"What seems to be the matter, Princess Twilight?" Celestia asked almost as soon as Twilight finished her response.

"She was bitten by those horrid vamponies, my sister." Luna answered.

"Then...that means-"

"I am one of them, sadly..." Twilight confirmed.

"What about Rarity and Robert?" Celestia questioned.

"They were-"

"They had fled from sight before we could attempt to go after them." Luna answered for Twilight, lying to her older sister.

"That's a great travesty..." Celestia condoled.

"It is," Luna replied, "now if you'll excuse me, there is some business that I must attend to."

Luna walked immediately out of the room thereafter, leaving Twilight along with the most powerful pony there is in Equestria – her former mentor, Princess Celestia.

"Umm, Princess Celestia?" Twilight started once Princess Luna completely exited from the room.

"What is it, Princess Twilight?" Celestia elegantly and soothingly asked.

"Well, uh, Princess Luna...wasn't...exactly telling you the truth just now." Twilight alerted her.

"What do you mean, Twilight?" She questioned.

"About Rarity and Robert, Princess," continued Twilight, "they didn't exactly flee..."

"They didn't?" Celestia repeated. "Then where are they exactly?"

"Umm..."

Twilight stood silent. She honestly couldn't deal with giving up the location of her friends and the thought of having Princess Celestia come in and "take care of them," so to speak, clouded Twilight's mind heavily. She was on the brink of telling Princess Celestia of their whereabouts, but this situation seemed too fragile enough for that to even be an option. Twilight wanted to tell Princess Celestia, but her mouth forbade that action from occurring.

"Go on, Princess," Celestia told Twilight, "it's okay."

"R-Rarity and...Robert are back in Ponyville..." replied Twilight. "Back inside the Carousel Boutique, to be more specific. They didn't flee and they purposely attacked me and transformed me into this!"

"Something has to be done then." Celestia boldly explained, straightening herself out on her throne.

"What do you plan on doing, Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked.

"We simply cannot have this epidemic continue any further," Celestia replied, "do you not agree?"

"I agree fully," said Twilight, "but what are you planning to do to them?"

"I wish I knew, Princess Twilight," Celestia solemnly responded, "I really wish I did."

"Vamponies aren't your average, run-of-the-mill ponies, Princess." Twilight alerted. "If we want to get rid of them, we would have to have incredibly strong forces."

"We would," agreed Celestia, "but the fact of the matter is is that we cannot deliberately get rid of an Element holder. That would leave Equestria without one of its most important means of defense."

"How do we go about this then?" wondered Twilight.

"I don't have any answers to that, Princess Twilight." Celestia said.

The two princesses thought about some of the possible ways they could protect themselves or even all of Equestria, should an all out war or something equivalent to that take place between the ponies and the vamponies. In that moment, it dawned upon Twilight that the Elements of Harmony did belong to Princess Luna and Princess Celestia at one point in time before they took ownership of them.

 _What if, perhaps, the Element of Generosity found somepony that was more suitable for the Element?_ Twilight thought to herself. _It sounds like a completely insane idea, but it does have factual proof and evidence that it does indeed work if Celestia and Luna were once connected to them, and now we are._

"Princess Celestia." Twilight started after a momentary silence kicked in.

"What is it, Princess Twilight?" Celestia asked in reply.

"Now bear with me on this absolutely preposterous idea, but," she continued, "what if we found somepony else more qualified to hold the Element of Generosity? That way we could do something about this epidemic and Equestria will be safe. Does that sound like a possibility?"

"I see what you mean, Twilight," Celestia responded, "but do you know anypony who can fill in that role as the Element of Generosity or even the backup Element of Happiness?"

"Pinkie Pie can fill in the role of the Element of Happiness fairly easily," Twilight said, "but as for the Element of Generosity, I don't know who should be that..."

"Be what?" A new voice cried out.

Twilight turned around sharply and noticed that Rarity and Robert had entered into the Canterlot throne room, which was shocking to her.

 _Why would they arrive here,_ Twilight thought, _don't they know that they are wanted criminals?_

"Rarity," Celestia said, "Robert."

"Good day to you, Princess Celestia." Rarity replied.

"I wish it was." answered Celestia.

"What do you mean?" asked Robert.

Celestia then gazed over at Twilight before letting her horn become encased within her pale yellow aura. She looked over towards Rarity and Robert and attempted to hold them down with her magic. Rarity immediately picked up on this and countered with embracing her horn with her majestic blue aura, with Robert embracing his horn with his emerald green aura. In terms of magic, as long as Rarity and Robert had their horns covered by their magic, they were virtually untouchable, seeing how magic from anypony else used on either one of then would have no effect on them at all.

"It seems we've reached an impasse." Robert claimed.

"We know that you wanted to hold us against our will, Celestia," Rarity added, "but that simple won't happen. We are too powerful for that to occur."

"What do you want?" Celestia asked.

"What do we want?" Rarity repeated. "Well, Robert, what is it that we do want again?"

"Oh, Rarity," Robert said, "don't you remember? We want to rule Equestria!"

"Oh," continued Rarity, adding sarcasm to her voice, "that's right! Because Equestria needs a powerful ruler to lead it, and I am that powerful leader!"

"You must be significantly out of your minds," Celestia claimed, "that will never happen as long as I'm here!"

"Which is entirely why we are here, Celestia!" Robert stated.

With that said, Rarity and Robert began to charge and attack Princess Celestia. At that moment, Twilight jumped in and tried her best to hold both Rarity and Robert off while Celestia fled to safety. Princess Luna came back inside after hearing all of this commotion and helped out as well, trying to protect Princess Celestia as best as she could. This angered Rarity, causing her to strike both Twilight and Princess Luna down.

 _I don't understand it,_ Twilight thought, _Rarity is a common unicorn who's also a vampony. Why is her magic and strength exceeding mine and Princess Luna's? Something doesn't add up here to know that a commoner is more powerful than royalty, and it's even more confusing since Robert was beaten by Princess Luna in a magic duel fairly easily, but can now hold himself easily against her now. What is going on here?_

"Twilight!" Rarity shouted. "Luna! What do you think you're doing!?"

"Protecting my sister!" Luna screamed.

"Pathetic!" Rarity claimed, hitting both Luna and Twilight with a beam of magic and sending them tumbling to the ground.

"Serves you right for acting out against Queen Rarity!" Robert said.

"You two will pay for the actions that you have chosen!" Rarity added, using her magic to transport Luna and Twilight away.

* * *

A few moments later, Princess Luna and Twilight had reappeared together inside one of the dungeons cells within the Canterlot dungeons. Twilight was alarmed, not knowing how safe Princess Celestia was without neither her nor Princess Luna to protect her now, and so was Luna. She seemed to be taking this heavily, wanting to see her sister safe and sound and not become one of us.

"Princess Celestia will be just fine, Princess Luna." Twilight tried telling Princess Luna.

"I know she will," Luna replied, "she's my sister and a powerful alicorn. She can handle for herself. It's just that we need to do something about Rarity and Robert."

"I agree," Twilight continued, "but until we can find a candidate to fill in the roles of either the Element of Generosity or the Element of Happiness, we can't do anything at the moment. If we did something now, Equestria would be left without one of its most powerful means of defense and, with villains like Discord and others, we cannot let that happen."

"Perhaps I could be of assistance." Luna said. "Remember, my sister and I were holders of the Elements long ago. Perhaps I could become a holder once more and help out in this predicament."

"It sounds like a wonderful and great possibility and idea. Princess," Twilight praised, "but we need to get out of here first before doing anything."

"Leave that to me!" Luna assured.

* * *

"Excellent work, Princess Luna!" exclaimed Twilight.

"Well, if there's one thing I know," Luna said, "it's the dungeons that my sister and I have in our own castle."

"Now we have to rush to the throne room and make sure Princess Celestia is all right." Twilight alerted. "I'm more than certain that she is, but I'd be more happy if we got to see it."

"I know what you mean, Princess Twilight." Luna replied.

The two princesses then rushed out of the dungeons Rarity and Robert had teleported them to and towards the throne room located on the top floor of the castle. They rushed out of the castle on the ground and started flying up to the throne room in order to save some very nonexistent time. Flying through one of the retractable windows, both Princess Luna and Twilight had noticed Rarity and Robert sitting atop Princess Celestia's throne together, with the regal princess nowhere in site.

"Where is Princess Celestia!?" Luna demanded.

"Come now, Luna," Rarity demonically spoke, "that's no way to talk to your Queen, you know!"

"You are not my Queen!" Luna protested. "I am your Princess!"

"Silence!" Rarity shouted, using her magic to dim the lights traumatically.

"Rarity," Twilight spoke, trying to ease the situation, "think about what you're doing here."

"Silence, Twilight!" Robert shouted, sending me a powerful beam of magic as a warning.

That got Twilight to shuffle backwards a bit, finding herself standing right next to Princess Luna. She managed to get a glimpse of Luna and her furious look. Twilight wasn't too sure, but if she could predict what was about to happen, she would say that Princess Luna was beginning to lose control of the nightmare forces that were lodged inside of her body. Somehow, she knew that when they used the Elements of Harmony on her all those years ago. Twilight was the only pony that truly understood what exactly had happened to her. Instead of separating Princess Luna and the nightmare forces, they had driven them down deep into Luna's mind, soul, and body. Now, it appeared as if they were breaking free and attempting to take over Luna once more.

"Excellent." Rarity stated in her demonic voice.

"Princ-AHH!" screamed Luna. "Princess...ugh...Twilight!"

"Princess Luna!" Twilight replied. "You've got to fight this!"

"Just a little more, Luna!" Rarity added.

"Princess, ugh, humph, Twili-aye-aye-ight!" Luna shouted, trying desperately to fight the emotions and actions that were taking over her body.

"You can do this, Princess Luna!" encouraged Twilight. "You're a strong pony!"

"Silence, Twilight!" Rarity told Twilight, blasting her away with her magic, hurting and wounding Twilight very much.

"Twilight!" Luna screamed through her pain.

One of the last things Twilight remembered before collapsing from sheer exhaustion was witnessing Princess Luna transform back into Nightmare Moon before her very eyes. She opened her eyes and glanced over towards Rarity, approaching her very, very slowly.

"The Queen of the Eternal Night hath returned once more!" Nightmare Moon roared.

Twilight shut my eyes and passed out from exhaustion as the echoes of Nightmare Moon's voice and Rarity's and Robert's voice rang through her piercing head.

 _Equestria is being set up to fall harshly..._ She thought to herself before completely losing consciousness.

* * *

"Hello? Anypony?"

"Twilight," a familiar voice said, "you shouldn't have waken up."

"Who's there?" Twilight quickly asked.

"Such a stubborn little mare you are," the voice continued, "you know that?"

"Who's there?" she repeated.

"What?" The voice asked. "Do you not know who I am? Do you not recall this predicament? Do you not remember anything at all?"

"Ni-Nightmare M-M-Moon?" Twilight stammered.

"Oh, how smart you are!" Nightmare Moon spoke.

"Princess Luna!" replied Twilight. "You're not Nightmare Moon! You're Princess Luna! Princess Luna is a strong pony who put Nightmare moon away for a long time...right?"

"Do not call me that name again!" Nightmare Moon roared. "Your precious Princess Luna has been overwhelmed by me and no longer controls us! I am in control! I have the power! I. Am. Nightmare Moon!"

"No you're not, Luna," she answered in reply, "you're better than this! What about Princess Celestia, huh? How do you think she'll respond when she sees you like this again!?"

"She won't be seeing me for a long, long time, you little foal!" Nightmare Moon said.

"Very, very good, Nightmare Moon." Twilight heard Rarity call.

"Rarity?" Twilight said out of shock.

"Welcome, Twilight," Rarity continued, "to my Equestria!"

"You said it would be mine!" claimed Nightmare Moon.

"We all say things, dear," said Rarity, glancing back over to Twilight, "my version of Equestria consists of ponies that are like me and you - vamponies! Robert is outside at the moment transforming ponies as we speak! In a few hours, Equestria will be mostly vamponies while everypony else tried to fight us back. It will prove to be useless and pointless, but the less that they know, the better it is for us! What do you say, Twilight? Join us and you get to remain a Princess!"

"I thought you were my friend, Rarity..." started Twilight, feeling some tears begin falling down her face.

"We all think things, dear." Rarity repeated.

Twilight was baffled, dismantled, and felt as if she had been shot down. Everything she thought was real between her and Rarity and their friendship was a lie.

 _No,_ Twilight thought, _that simply cannot be right._ _ _This__ _simply cannot be right! Rarity would never act like this to anypony...so why is she doing this? Could it be that her vampire self is controlling both her and Robert? If that's true, why haven't I acting the same way? Is something missing from me that forbade the monster inside of me from controlling me? Is something wrong with me, was that it?_

Twilight ultimately decided to run away from this problem and deal with it by approaching it from another angle. Attacking the problem head on isn't always the best way to go about doing something. Sometimes, you have to approach the problem from a unique type of angle - the back, the left, the top - hopefully fixating said problem and thus, ceasing it.

While running out of the throne room that Rarity had claimed for herself, Twilight heard her laughing demonically. One final tear fell from her eye and hit the ground as she knew that our friendship turned out to be a hoax.

"She simply must be brought down!" Twilight declared, running away.

Twilight ran as far and as fast as her hooves would carry her. She ran away from fears, from her problems, but, most of all, she ran away from one of her friendships. She ran out of the throne room into a room where Princess Celestia took her one time when I was younger.

"This room is hidden away from everypony else." Twilight remembered Princess Celestia telling me. "It only appears to whoever should believe that it is there. You will find me there if anything horrific were to ever happen again in Equestria."

Twilight ran around, trying to locate this particular room, but seemed to be having the utmost of difficulty trying to find it.

 _The door...the room...I know it's around here somewhere...but there's so many doors, I-I don't know which one is the right door. Is it this one?_ Twilight opened up the door, revealing just an empty bedroom. _Nope, this leads to the Princess' bedroom...could it be this one?_

Again, Twilight opened up another door, revealing an empty spare room.

 _Horse apples...not through here either. I'm never going to find this door..._

Twilight looked and checked every single door this hallway had, not having a single bit of luck in locating the room Princess Celestia told her she would be in. Finally, she reached the end of the hall, but it just appeared to be an empty wall, nothing more, nothing less. Eventually, Twilight had given up on this hallway and began walking back towards the main hallway.

"Oh, Princess Celestia," She spoke out loud, "please...show me a sign that you're near..."

Upon saying that, a light shone from behind Twilight, which she took notice to almost instantaneously. She turned around and, sitting at the end of the hallway, she saw that a new doorway had appeared in front of her. Twilight approached the door and sheepishly placed her hoof on the door knob to see if it was a real door and not an illusion that her brain was pulling on her. Sure enough, Twilight felt the door knob and used her magic to open it partially.

"Hello?" She quietly asked, peering her head inside the room. "Is anypony here?"

The room was large and was a dark, magnificent indigo color. It had no lights, just candles providing some very, very poor light. Stepping into the room, the door rapidly shut behind Twilight all by itself, starling her and causing her to shuffle back as she gazed back at the door.

Shuffling backwards, Twilight bumped into something large. Turning around slowly, she noticed that she had bumped into Princess Celestia, who appeared to be unharmed, but was a bit worried about the condition of both Twilight and Princess Luna.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight happily said, embracing her with a hug.

"Princess Twilight," Celestia responded, exchanging Twilight's hug with one from her, "how is Princess Luna?"

"Umm...about that," Twilight stammered. She didn't want to tell Princess Celestia that Princess Luna has been taken over and is now Nightmare Moon once again, but Twilight's number of choices was severely limited and she would feel horrible if she told a simply lie about something so serious now.

"What's wrong?" asked a nervous Celestia.

"Princess Luna," Twilight gulped, "is...uhh...is..."

"She's...?"

"P-Princess Luna," paused Twilight, "is Nightmare Moon again."

"I feared that this day would come once more." Celestia responded.

"What do you mean?"

"When you and your friends transformed Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna using the Elements of Harmony long ago," explained Celestia, "I sensed that she wasn't the same."

"How so?"

"I sensed that Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon were still one," Celestia said, "that the control of her body shifted from Nightmare Moon to Princess Luna."

"...you knew..." Twilight slowly stated.

Celestia nodded, "I most certainly did. I knew that if you six hadn't done that, Princess Luna would not be here this very moment. I've feared that this day would come once more for a long time. I sensed that Luna was...changing her way of life, especially now, thanks to her condition. But...but what really is mind boggling to me is the fact that Luna resented her inner self and Nightmare Moon returned, but you're completely fine, as if you're not suffering from the same condition the Luna is suffering from. Why is that?"

"I was thinking the same thing, Princess Celestia," Twilight answered honestly and truthfully, "and to answer your question...well...I-I don't have an answer to that. I'm just as confused as you are about that. I mean, we are similar in molecular structures now, but there should be no reason why she is...well, is insane, and I'm perfectly fine. That doesn't add up to me, and apparently not to you either."

"Twilight," Celestia started, "you and I are a lot alike right now. Aside from the condition that you are in now, you are a tribe of one little pony. That is the fate and destiny of freaks and monsters like how Rarity, Robert, and, now, Princess Luna are. We are too much of one to ever be the other, and too much of other to be one. We are alone, trying to change the world for the better now."

"But, what about my friends?" asked Twilight. "What about the other Element holders and, more importantly, what about my Lunar?"

"There simply is not enough time for them to get here." Celestia alerted. "Any moment now, Equestria will be overrun by your kind – vamponies. If there is a time to fight back, it is now."

"But, you're not one of us," Twilight said, "if you fight, you'll surely get hurt."

"What has to be done, must be done." Celestia responded. "If I don't make it through this, I-"

"Don't you say that, Celestia!" interrupted Twilight.

Princess Celestia gently placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, continuing on with her statement. "If I don't make it through this, I want you to be the one who replaces me."

"But...but..."

"You'll be fine," Celestia assured Twilight, "don't you worry, my little pony, heaven has a plan for you."

"But..."

"Don't worry about me," Celestia said, "I have done plenty of good during my time here. I know that I will be remembered by my subjects, if I were to leave or not make it through this alive."

"But..."

"Twilight," Celestia paused, "from one alicorn to another, you will be fine and do things exceeding beyond expectations that anypony may have for you. You were my best student and one of my favorites. I've watched you blossom into this from just a young unicorn filly all those years ago, and I know that, using what I've taught you throughout your years of study, you will be a spectacular ruler."

"But..."

"Twilight," Celestia continued, placing both of her front hooves on both of Twilight's shoulders, "you will be fine, and I'll do my best to do the same. Don't you worry about a thing, Twilight."

"...it's been an honor to have been your student." Twilight replied.

"And it has been an honor being your mentor," Princess Celestia smiled, moving out of the room, "now we must go."

"Of course, Princess." Twilight said, following Princess Celestia out of the room.

* * *

"Now this is most certainly a surprise! Princess Celestia _and_ Princess Twilight back here for more!?"

"Rarity," Twilight called, "I'll give you one last chance to peacefully and gracefully stand down!"

"And lose all of this!?" Rarity questioned. "You must be losing your mind!"

"Is that how you feel?" Twilight questioned her. "Well, then you leave us with no choice..."

"I've had enough of this," Rarity said, motioning her hoof in the air in a scoff type motion, "deal with them would you, Nightmare Moon. I have to tend to my new kingdom. You're in charge of destroying these two annoying ponies."

"You do not give me orders!" snapped Nightmare Moon. "However, I will destroy these two foals!"

"Excellent," Rarity replied, "I shall return in a bit. I hope that when I return, these two will be eliminated."

"They'll be more than eliminated!" Nightmare Moon roared.

"Excellent." Rarity finished, using her demonic magic to teleport herself away from the throne room.

Nightmare Moon evilly smiled at Princess Celestia and Twilight. Celestia had begun to slowly approach her corrupted sister, though Twilight managed to stop her, thanks to my increased strength.

"Twilight," Celestia said, giving her a heavy glance.

"She's just like me, Princess," responded Twilight, "a vampony. I know she's your sister, but that won't stop her from attempting to sink her teeth into your skin."

"You're right." agreed Celestia.

"Enough talk!" roared Nightmare Moon.

"Luna..." Celestia quietly said, but loud enough for Nightmare Moon to hear it.

"Do not call us that name again!" Nightmare Moon shouted. "We are Nightmare Moon!"

Nightmare Moon had lost her temper after that and ran straight towards Princess Celestia. Twilight had managed to jump in front of her and hold Nightmare Moon down, stopping her from getting any closer towards her sister. Heck, Princess Luna may be corrupted, but her and Princess Celestia are still sisters, and regal ones for that matter. Twilight's super strength was matched by Nightmare Moon's strength, but since she was taller than Twilight was, her downward force was beginning to overpower Twilight's upward force. Honestly, and Twilight knew about this before hand, pushing something up is a lot tougher than pushing something down, and this desperately proved that case to be true. Nightmare Moon was overpowering Twilight and there was very little she could do in her defense.

Suddenly, Princess Celestia charged at her sister from the side and slammed Nightmare Moon down into the ground. Nightmare Moon had shot a look back at Celestia, then charged back at her, slamming Celestia into a spire and causing it to break off and collapse on the ground next to them. Not only that, but a chunk of the ceiling collapsed and came crashing down, revealing the outside world to us all and shining some dim light into the throne room.

Twilight looked up and out of the hole in the ceiling and saw a modestly red sky, something that she thought was scientifically impossible, considering that the current time was only about one o'clock in the afternoon and that the sun wasn't supposed to set for another five-and-a-half hours.

Looking back down, Twilight saw that Nightmare Moon was attempting to infect Princess Celestia by biting her neck, so she jumped in and took the bite for Celestia. Twilight felt nothing, which wasn't a huge shocker to her since she already was infected. Princess Celestia thanked Twilight for the protection, then the two princesses backed away from Nightmare Moon, who appeared to be growing more tired as the time went by.

"Give...it up...you two." Nightmare Moon panted. "You...don't...stand a chance...against...me..."

"Not a chance, Luna!" Twilight replied.

"She isn't getting weaker," Celestia noted.

"We vamponies need to do a lot of things for us to get tired now." Twilight told Princess Celestia. "But how do we bring Luna back without the Elements of Harmony and how do we get rid of her condition."

"Desperate times calls for desperate measures." Celestia answered, confusing Twilight slightly. "It sounds like a lost cause, but we need to use the Elements on her before she damages herself further."

"But...I don't-"

Princess Celestia then casted a spell, summoning the Elements of Harmony before her and Twilight. Nightmare Moon was still collecting some air, so the two princesses took this short period of time to gather themselves, attaching the Elements to them. Twilight grabbed her original Element of Magic, leaving the other five for Princess Celestia to utilize. The two princesses then began charging up the Elements, but only four out of the six were functioning correctly.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked. "Why aren't they working?"

"It isn't balanced properly!" Princess Celestia alerted her.

Nightmare Moon began groaning and started to reach her standards once more. She was nearing her full health, which meant that time was running out for the princesses to use the Elements of Harmony on her.

"What do you mean?" asked Twilight.

"I have five Elements, whereas you have one." Celestia answered. "We have to balance it out, three and three each."

"But I can only control one Element!" Twilight retorted.

"You can do this, Twilight," Celestia assured her, "I know you can. You're the only pony who can do this right now. It's up to you and I to end this together."

Twilight nodded, then took the last two malfunctioning Elements from Princess Celestia - Loyalty and Kindness - and attached them to her neck. The two princesses then began charging up the Elements once more, which was perfect timing, seeing how Nightmare Moon had collected herself and started running over towards them, horn out in front of her. With Twilight out in front, Nightmare Moon was sure to hit her first.

"Just a little more!" Princess Celestia shouted.

"Oh, no you don't!" screamed Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare Moon jumped out at the two ponies at the last second, trying desperately to infect her sister before the Elements of Harmony attacked her and attempted to revert her back to her old self again. Twilight had shut her eyes and allowed her hearing to take over from there, dramatically hoping for the best to happen.

"Now!" Princess Celestia shouted.

"No you don't!" Nightmare Moon screamed once more.

Twilight opened my eyes and saw Nightmare Moon in the air, trying to attack her sister, while the spiraling rainbow shot out from Princess Celestia and herself and began to shoot downwards. Nightmare Moon had passed Twilight in the air and was simply inches away from her sister now however, the rainbow smashed down on Nightmare Moon, wrapping itself around all three of the ponies at the very last second, mainly working on Nightmare Moon herself.

"Noooo!" Nightmare Moon yelled, trying to escape from her stationary status.

Twilight felt befuddled, not knowing that the Elements of Harmony could make someone stationary while they were being converted into something or someone else.

 _This little bit of information could prove to be a vital thing in the future if we need to wield them once more._ She though to herself.

The rainbow circling around Nightmare Moon had vanished and before Princess Celestia and Twilight once more stood Princess Luna. When the rainbow ceased, Princess Luna continued Nightmare Moon's trajectory path, slicing Princess Celestia with her horn a bit, causing her to bleed.

"Luna!" Princess Celestia panted.

"My s-sister..." Luna meekly replied. "I-I..."

"No...not you too, Celestia..." Twilight said.

Princess Celestia, though she wasn't directly bitten, was slowly becoming infected and turning into a vampony herself.

 _This situation is getting way too out of hoof,_ panicked Twilight, _we need to do something about this now! But...what do we do? How do you revert all vamponies back to normal?_

"I'll be fine, you two." lied Princess Celestia.

Both Princess Luna and Twilight left it at that, wanting to defuse the current situation before anything and everything got a whole lot worse. Princess Celestia tried to keep calm and carry on, but appeared to be slowed down thanks to her slow transformation. Twilight tended to her, but she kept insisting that she was going to be fine. Not wanting to spark an argument, she eventually dropped the subject and started to devise a plan on how to revert all vamponies back to normal. The only problem was that nobody had any idea as to what to do or how to go about such a plan or even how it would work.

"How do we get everypony back to normal?" Twilight questioned.

Silence – tense, tense silence – had trickled down into the room. Nobody knew the answer to that.

"If reverting ponies back to normal is what you seek," a sinister voice started, "perhaps I could be of assistance to the meek."

"Who's there?" Luna questioned.

The three princesses all looked around the room in a frantic type of motion, from high above, to down below. They looked all around, but it simply was too dark in this room.

"Show yourself!" demanded Twilight.

"Come now, Twilight Sparkle," the voice continued, "that's no way to have fun."

"Show yourself!" Luna demanded, backing Twilight up a bit.

"You too, Princess Luna?" They continued. "It's no wonder she infected the two of you..."

"H-How do you know that!?" Twilight said, startled by the information this pony knew - if they were a pony, that is.

"Relax, Twilight Sparkle." They stated. "You aren't the only one."

"I know that!" Twilight snapped, wondering who it was telling these seemingly obvious facts.

"So ease up then!" They replied, stepping forward from the dark shade and revealing themselves.

"Trixie?" I noticed. "Is that you?"

"Most certainly, Twilight." She answered in reply.

Twilight was surprised, shocked, and even bamboozled beyond words themselves and couldn't help contain herself while asking her if she had become a vampony as well.

"Well," she started, "not exactly. You see, Trixie is far too strong to fall to the likes of them."

Twilight rolled her eyes, scoffing and choosing not to believe Trixie's reply. Instead, she paid more attention to why she was here in the first place.

"What are you doing here, Trixie?" Twilight asked her.

"Trixie has actually come to apologize for all of her past actions," Trixie answered, "Trixie wasn't the best nor handled certain situations the best, so she wanted to apologize to you, Twilight Sparkle."

"Then how did you know that I was here?" Twilight questioned.

"Your friends from Ponyville told Trixie that you might be here," she responded, "so she came to Canterlot and to the castle to see if the two princesses knew where you were. It's just by sheer coincidence Trixie ran into you here, Twilight."

"You were in Ponyville?" Twilight reiterated, hopes being raised a little.

"Trixie was in Ponyville," she confirmed.

"Did you happen to see a dark colored alicorn there with my friends, Trixie?" Twilight hoped.

"We did," answered Trixie.

"How was he doing?" Twilight continued.

"He seemed to be in decent condition," Trixie stated, "why do you ask, Twilight Sparkle?"

"No reason," Twilight lied, relieved that her friends and Lunar were doing just fine. She immediately asked Trixie if she knew something about vamponies that she didn't know herself.

"What do you wish to know, Twilight Sparkle?" Trixie replied. "Trixie has studied heavily about vamponies."

"Do you know of a way to get rid of them all and stop this epidemic?" Twilight asked.

"Trixie knows of a way to end this all." She responded. "Trixie has seen this type of thing happen already."

"You have?" Twilight questioned, wondering if she was just making up another story again.

"Most certainly, Twilight." She answered.

"So what do we do?"

"Trixie will tell you," she told her, "but you may not like the answer that you seek."

"And why do you think that?" Twilight said, unsure of what Trixie meant.

"In order to return everything to what it once was," Trixie began, completely ignoring Twilight's question, "you have to get rid of the head vampony. Once that happens, everypony will transform back into what they all once were."

"When you say 'get rid of,' what do you mean?" asked Princess Luna.

"Get rid of the head vampony," repeated Trixie, "you know, finish them, end them, eliminate them, do whatever it takes to get them out of the picture."

"You mean... _ _kill__ her?" Twilight asked.

"Trixie didn't want to say that since she knows that the head is one of your friends, Twilight," Trixie replied, "but that is exactly what Trixie means. Kill the head vampony and everypony goes back to normal."

Twilight shook her head slowly, looking down in the process. "I...I simply cannot do that..."

Trixie and Princess Luna glanced heavily back at Twilight, as did Princess Celestia, who was still undergoing the transformation process.

Twilight sighed heavily, explaining herself slightly. "She may be a monster, but she is my friend, and I simply cannot kill another friend, let alone, another pony. It is not my nature to do that, so leave me out of this, please..."

"Twilight," Luna started, "you have to be the one to do this. Think about Equestria, think about yourself. You are a strong pony, stronger than I. I can't fully understand how you feel right now, but you have to put aside those feelings and do this for you, for me, for Trixie, for Celestia, for Equestria."

"I can't, Princess Luna," Twilight revolted, "I just can't put myself through that situation. It's bad enough that she did this to me, but I can't end her life because of that. It just doesn't seem fair."

"Listen to me, Twilight," Luna said seriously, turning Twilight and placing both of her front hooves on Twilight's shoulders, "you can do this because you are a strong pony. You are the strongest and bravest pony I know and I know that you are the only one who can stand up to her and beat her."

"You can...do it, Twilight," Princess Celestia grunted, fighting off the transformation, "do it...for Equestria."

Twilight looked down and frowned heavily while the two regal sisters and Trixie tried convincing her that she could do it, but she just couldn't bring it to herself to kill one of her friends, even if she was evil now. She sighed one more time, then glanced at Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Trixie.

"You have to be the one to do this, Twilight," Luna explained to Twilight, "you are the only pony strong enough to defeat and bring Rarity down."

"Trixie has to agree with that, though she doesn't like to admit it." Trixie added.

"I...I..." Twilight was starting to find that speaking clearly was becoming more of job than ann instinct now. She was feeling way too many things right now, refraining her from speaking correctly.

Princess Celestia's transformation was complete, and she got up and approached Twilight slowly. Bending down slightly, Princess Celestia placed her right front hoof on Twilight's shoulder, then proceeded to look her dead in the eye.

"You can do this, Twilight," she boldly told Twilight.

"But..."

"Listen to me," Princess Celestia continued, "I understand that this will be a tough decision and act for you to perform, I know that. But this is something different, trust me. You aren't dealing with a friend here."

"She's right, Twilight," added Luna, "you're dealing with a demon that had taken over Rarity and claimed her as their own."

"Right," Princess Celestia said, "and I can assure you that, by performing this difficult task, you will be a heroine within Equestria and I promise, your actions won't be forgotten."

"They need you to do this, Twilight." Trixie added.

"We need you to do this, Twilight." Luna exclaimed.

Twilight looked around at the three ponies that stood before her. They were pushing for her to kill one of her friends, something she found shocking and something she herself was deeming inhumane for her. It wasn't in Twilight's nature to kill or harm anypony, friend or foe alike. She cannot perform those actions, especially to her friend, evil or not. Twilight sighed heavily, then told everyone something they were certain to not like.

"I'm sorry, everypony," Twilight regretfully stated, "but I can't do that. It's not like me to do something like that, whether it'd be Rarity or even somepony as sinister and evil as Discord. I can't perform that action and cannot save Equestria like that."

 _ _CRASH!__

"What was that!?" shrieked Twilight.

 _ _BOOM!__

"What's going on outside!?" Trixie added.

Princess Celestia listened further. "Sounds like..."

 _ _CRASH!__

The four ponies crowded around one of the windows that didn't have a pane on it. They all looked outside and saw a horrible, horrible sight before them all.

"This can't be happening..." Twilight quietly said.

"It is..." Trixie assured ruefully.

"It's the end of the world as we know it..." Princess Celestia whispered.

"Rarity has attacked and taken over the majority of Equestria." Luna stated.

"Twilight," Princess Celestia continued, "now do you see why we all need you?"

"I do," answered Twilight, "but I still can't force myself to perform an act such as that."

"Trixie knew you well, Twilight." Trixie told her.

That got Twilight to think deeply. Equestria needed her heavily, but she was abandoning it and choosing one pony over millions of others. She was choosing one friend over every other friend that she has made throughout her life. Twilight decided that this was the time to put everything that made her who she was behind her and help out Equestria in its time of need.

"So what do we do?" Twilight boldly asked Princess Celestia.

"Find Rarity and bring her down, like this pony here told us." Princess Celestia reminded her.

"I'll do my best." answered Twilight, using her magic to teleport herself out into the middle of what was going on outside.

Outside was a lot warmer than it usually was. It was definitely more humid than it usually was, and all around Twilight stood dead bodies on the floor. That almost made her throw up, but Twilight forced everything to stay down and looked straight ahead of her. Up ahead, she saw a white unicorn mare walking around, bending down to each of the bodies that lay around both Twilight and them. This unicorn was doing that to each of the bodies around themselves and kept getting closer to Twilight.

"Rarity!" Twilight shouted.

The unicorn shot a look up at Twilight and approached her even further. Twilight saw a smile on their face and she stopped about thirty yards away.

"Twilight Sparkle," she demonically spoke, "I would never have thought that you would show around here. Really, I thought that Nightmare Moon would have dealt with you, but, alas, I was wrong."

"You were, Rarity!" Twilight shouted.

"You need to ease up, Twilight." Rarity exclaimed. "You'll work yourself to pieces."

"Stop it." snapped Twilight. "You're reign of terror ends here."

"Do I sense a challenge?" Rarity scoffed. "Do you really think that you can defeat me?"

"I don't think so, Rarity," Twilight told her, "I know so."

"Fine," Rarity sighed, "but I knew you well, Twilight."

Twilight huffed, beginning to charge towards Rarity. She put the past behind her and only focused on one thing and one thing only, and that was ending Rarity right here and now!

Twilight ran straight towards Rarity, who moved out of the way at the last second. Rarity then answered Twilight by sending over a beam of magic as a counterstrike, seemingly missing Twilight on purpose.

"I don't want to hurt you, dear," she told Twilight, though failing to switch out of her demonic voice.

"Funny," Twilight replied, "because I want to hurt you!"

Twilig sent over a fairly large beam of magic in response to Rarity's over towards her and managed to strike her. She took the beam and was pushed backwards, though managed to take it and hang in there somehow. Deep down, Twilight knew they both could take more hits than a regular pony, but this was something else.

"Is that the best you can do?" Rarity laughed. "How pathetic...here, take this!"

Rarity shot a more powerful beam of magic at Twilight, which managed to strike her and ground her. It was weird, though, seeing how that hurt Twilight and now she was having a hard time enduring that painful hit.

 _Is Rarity's magic more powerful than mine now?_ Twilight thought.

"How did real power feel like?" Rarity asked her.

Twilight finally managed to get back up, stumbling a few times, but finally managing to stand on her own hooves. Rarity evilly smirked, then sighed once more.

"You really don't know when to give up, do you?" questioned Rarity.

Twilight couldn't find the strength to respond to that. Rather, she glared at Rarity, trying to find some strength to blast her once again with some magic. Rarity laughed in response, then told Twilight that it was time to end this now. She blasted Twilight with another powerful beam of magic and forced her to fall down and stay down.

"Hmm," Rarity grunted, "I expected a better fight from a Princess, you know."

Twilight heard Rarity's hooves clack against the cold stone ground, getting louder with each passing second. Before long, she saw her shadow tower over her body and stop right next to her.

"It's a terrible shame that it had to end this way as well, Twilight," Rarity snickered, "but, you've gotten in my way one too many times!"

Twilight turned over, seeing that Rarity was preparing to drive her horn into her body. Rarity was wrapping her horn with her magic, so Twilight took this opportunity to drive her own horn through Rarity's heart. She jabbed and jerked her head upward and drove it straight through Rarity's messed up heart. Managing to get a glimpse of Rarity's face, Twilight slowly started to remove her horn from Rarity's heart.

"T-T-Twi...l-l-light..." Rarity coughed, struggling to breath.

"It had to be like this, Rarity." Twilight told her.

Rarity coughed some more, finally coughing up some blood and collapsing slightly on top of Twilight.

"B-B-But...why?" Rarity whispered.

"You had to be stopped, and this was the only way how." Twilight heeded.

Rarity let out one final sigh, and fully collapsed on top of Twilight, who began to cry a bit after having the thought of killing one of her friends finally set and sink itself in to Twilight. She placed Rarity on the ground next to her, sobbing over the loss of her dead friend.

 _This is no way for a pony to go, even if they are as evil as she was._ Twilight thought, crying internally now. _This is something I'll always regret doing, but was forced to do for the sake of Equestria._

* * *

Upon the defeat and end to the evil vampony queen Rarity, Twilight Sparkle began to walk slowly back to what was left of the Canterlot castle. She felt pretty sure it was the Canterlot Castle, seeing how Canterlot was the town that was nearly destroyed thanks to Rarity's shenanigans. Tears had begun to fill Twilight's eyes, tears of regret and sorrow. She didn't want to do what she did, but she was forced to do it.

"Oh, Rarity," Twilight ruefully said, "you will forever be missed."

Twilight rapidly approached the castle. Looking up at the crumbling castle, Twilight slowly made her way inside and up the main staircase. It was a long way to top, but it gave Twilight time to push all the events that just happened to the back of her mind. Unfortunately, however, once she reached the top of the castle and entered the throne room, those thoughts and actions came rushing back into the front of her head. She felt tears begin to form and attempt to escape, but desperately fought against them from doing so. Twilight saw Princess Celestia and Princess Luna returned back to normal alicorn ponies, however she was still the same.

"Twilight!" Princesses Celestia and Luna shouted, rushing over to embrace Twilight in a hug.

"Yo-you're both fine..." Twilight meekly said.

"Thanks to your heroic actions, we are." Princess Luna answered.

"But, you're still the same." Princess Celestia noted.

"Why is that...?" wondered Twilight.

Suddenly, Twilight saw Trixie reveal herself from one of the shadows of the throne room.

"When one gets rid of the head vampony," she started, "the pony who defeated the head vampony then becomes the head vampony."

"You mean..." stammered Twilight. She then fell silent when she realized the inevitable. "I'm going to be like this forever...?"

"Trixie is afraid so..." Trixie answered.

Twilight then collapsed on the ground and covered her head with her hooves. She started crying uncontrollably as she found out that she was stuck like this until either somepony else kills her, or not and be stuck like this forever.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna comforted Twilight as best as they could, knowing that this must be devastating news that just pierced Twilight's heart. The three ponies heard Trixie walk out of the throne room, leaving just Twilight crying a sea of tears alongside Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

"Everything will be alright, Twilight," Princess Celestia told Twilight.

"You have nothing to worry about." added Princess Luna.

* * *

A few months have passed since the incidents that happened in Canterlot between the former vampony queen Rarity and the new vampony queen Twilight. Canterlot has been fully repaired and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have retaken over as the rulers of Equestria. They have rebuilt their crumbling castle, using Princess Cadance's castle as a temporary interim castle while theirs was being rebuilt.

Twilight, with help from Prince Lunar Nights, has learned how to take control over her new self and has sworn to never show it to anypony ever again. Twilight didn't want this mess to happen yet again, but they always say that history tends to repeat itself.

Today was the day for Rarity's funeral. The funeral was being held in Canterlot, inside the new ballroom that was built. The ceremony was simply heart touching and plenty of tears were shed between Twilight, Lunar, their friends, and Rarity's family, especially Sweetie Belle, whom Applejack has taken into her home to take care of her in Ponyville.

Twilight approached a pedestal at the front end of the hall in the room and faced the fairly large crowd of sympathetic ponies. She felt tears begin forming in her eyes and Lunar quickly joined Twilight to comfort her and help her through her upcoming speech.

"Today," began Twilight, "we remember Rarity, not as a monster who briefly took over Equestria, but as a friend and, more importantly, the Element of Generosity. It is heartbreaking to see Rarity get placed inside a coffin and, ultimately, get lowered into the ground outside, but I look at this as a sign of what would have become of Equestria had nothing been done. I still feel guilty and want nothing more than one of my closest friends - my dearest friend - to come back to us. Rarity will truly be missed as Equestria's finest fashion designer and one of the Element holders. Rarity, we will miss you and wish you well in your afterlife."

After the funeral had ended, Twilight needed some time to think for herself. She took a walk through the newly developed Canterlot Sculpture Garden and stared blankly at each new statue. The final statue that was inside the Sculpture Garden was one of Twilight and her friends, minus Prince Lunar Nights. Twilight was in the middle, with Rainbow Dash on her right side, and Rarity on her left. In the sculpture, all the ponies were smiling and laughing. Twilight felt tears fall from her eyes the longer she stared at Rarity. She shouldn't have done what she did to Rarity; she didn't deserve it. It would've been better to at least talk to Rarity and try to reason and come to terms with her, but she couldn't; Twilight was forced to kill Rarity.

Even worse, the longer she stared at Rarity's portion of the statue, the more Twilight began to think about her little sister, Sweetie Belle.

 _How is she going to grow up, knowing that she no longer has an older sister anymore?_ Twilight thought to herself. _I can think of nopony else but me to decide that what was performed was the wrong choice to do...I will never be the same again. We will never be the same. There exists a void in all of our friendships that nopony could fill but Rarity and it will forever be left there...and Spike...he won't look the same ever again, knowing that the pony he loved is gone forever. Robert? He won't speak to me at all...I'm a horrible friend..._

Through her tears, Twilight began to feel a presence behind her. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and turned around, noticing that all of her friends had come and followed her to the garden. They all had tears filling their eyes as well – Prince Lunar included – and embraced Twilight in a hug in front of Rarity on the statue.

"She will be missed a whole lot, Twilight," Applejack spoke softly.

"I know she will," answered Twilight, looking up at Rarity, "she will be an irreplaceable friend..."

The group then disbanded from each other and stared at Rarity for a little while longer before they began to head on out back to Ponyville for home.

 _ _I'm sorry, Rarity,__ _Twilight_ told herself, __I'm sorry I had to do that...__

The group of remaining friends embraced each other for a little while longer before placing a violet in front of the statue in commemoration of Rarity. Once the time had come, they all began to leave and head for home – Ponyville.

They had arrived back home by the edge of night. Twilight's friends had all taken the train home, but she wanted to fly home with Lunar in order to be alone with him and her thoughts. They needed to be alone, both of them, although Twilight needed the alone time more than Lunar did. The two of them were leaders of their own kingdom in Equestria, but one of those leaders was forced to remove one of their subjects by force, an act of vigilante that was inhumane, wrong, and somewhat uncalled for.

Looking over to her distressed marefriend, the Prince of the Night found courage to break the silence as the flight continued onward.

"It's going to be okay, my Princess," he said as Ponyville neared.

Twilight replied with utter silence. She did not want to talk about it and, despite Lunar's attempts to help comfort her, she had a torn heart and torn soul inside of her.

The two alicorns flew onto the balcony just outside of their room and slowly went inside. Twilight locked the door to the balcony behind her and Lunar, shuffling the curtains over it before going over to shut the door to the room from downstairs, locking that door in the process as well. After those tasks were completed, Twilight fell onto the bed and stared out a small gap in the covered-up window. She saw the stars twinkling in the sky above and noticed some constellations. Every single star in the sky, however, reminded Twilight of Rarity, which brought tears to her eyes. Lunar noticed and comforted her in the bed as best as he could, but nothing worked.

Eventually, Twilight smothered her head into her pillow and tried stopping the tears from falling out of her eyes herself. It was a lot harder than it looked like but once she managed to stop her tears and dry her eyes, wiping them clean of any and all tears, she slowly looked up and back out of the window, up towards the sky once more. In the sky, Twilight and Lunar saw a shooting star. Twilight's eyes grew wide as she watched it tear through the sky for the brief period of time it was visible. Lunar could sense this, despite not being able to physically see Twilight's face in his current placement.

"You okay, Twily?" He asked her.

"I'm fine, Luny," replied Twilight.

"The falling star catch your eye?"

"When I was a younger filly," Twilight contently sighed, "my parents always told my older brother and I that if we saw a shooting star, we should make a wish and wish upon the star." Upon completion, Twilight shut her eyes real tight and began to think deep down for a really meaningful wish.

She sighed a bit, then started saying her wish out loud. "I wish...I wish that Rarity was alive once more. I wish that Rarity was here with us once more."

The shooting star vanished, then made a twinkle in the sky. The two alicorns watched the night sky a little while longer, then decided to call it a night. Lunar advised that Twilight sleep and needed to sleep away her problems, and this needed to happen fast. After all, sometimes sleep is the one thing needed most during a time when it is least expected. Trust me, I know.

* * *

"Twilight, darling!"

"Rarity!"

Twilight couldn't believe her eyes! Rarity was alive and well in front of her!

"Twilight!" Rarity shouted, running over and embracing Twilight in a hug.

"Rarity," cried Twilight, "it's so good to see you!"

"Same to you, darling." Rarity answered.

"You simply must tell me everything that you've gone through the last few weeks or so." she said.

"Sure thing, Twilight," Rarity cheerfully replied, "I just have one little, itty, bitty request to ask of you."

"Sure, Rarity," smiled Twilight, "what do you need?"

"I need..." paused Rarity, "to...extract my revenge on you!"

"Wh-what?" Twilight gasped. "Oof!"

Rarity tossed Twilight over, harshly landing on her back onto the cold, unforgivable ground. Twilight tried her best defending herself, but was too shocked and baffled by the sudden attack from Rarity to do anything.

 _Rarity had been given a second chance at life, but hasn't changed a bit!_ Twilight thought. _She's still acting the same exact way she did before I...did...what I did to her! Has she learned absolutely nothing!?_

"Time for payback!" Rarity yelled.

She jumped onto Twilight's collapsed body and wrapped her head around Twilight's neck. Rarity then proceeded to bite Twilight's neck and suck out her blood again.

* * *

"Gah!"

"Huh? Wh-wha?"

"Twily?"

"Gah!"

"Wha-what's wrong, Twilight!" Spike asked Twilight.

"Oh, Spike, Lunar," Twilight panicked, "I just had a terrible nightmare..."

"What happened?" Spike quietly asked. Twilight wasn't too sure if he was being sarcastic or if he was really worried, so she did actually tell him what happened.

"Well Spike," Twilight started as Lunar started giving her a calming massage, "last night, Lunar and I saw a shooting star up in the sky and wished for Rarity to come back to us. I guess I dozed off and fell asleep but, I dreamt that Rarity did come back, but she was still acting the same way. She pinned me down onto the ground, then began sucking out my blood...that's when I woke up..."

"Sounds...odd, Twilight," Lunar told Twilight, "but you are safe now."

"You sure?" quivered Twilight. Deep down, she knew she was, but she just wanted to hear Lunar's response.

"Sure I am," he replied, "you're in the real world now, and nothing can harm you like that now. You're the head vampony now, so it would be impossible for that to happen again...unless you infect somepony else, but that's a different story."

"Thanks, Lunar," Twilight softly said, "I needed that."

"No problem, Twilight," Lunar continued.

"It's what friends do for each other," added Spike.

Twilight brought Spike closer to her body with her hoof and snuggled the top of her head to the top of his. Both Twilight and Spike understood each other fully and knew exactly when the other was feeling sad, depressed, frightened, or scared. They always knew what to say to each other – as did Lunar – when the other was feeling down and sad, always cheering each other up.

Twilight loved the time she spent together with Lunar and Spike and could say that, without a doubt, her longest friend is her greatest friend and her longest coltfriend was her soulmate. Spike and Lunar were like family to Twilight and, if anything were to ever happen to Spike or Lunar or, even worse, both of them, she wouldn't know what to do.

Anyways, getting back on track here, the three close friends hugged for a little while longer. Soon, they all separated from each other, and Twilight gracefully stepped down from the bed, down the stairs, and, finally, outside to take in some of this crisp, cool late autumn air. Winter was rapidly approaching and so was Hearth's Warming, Twilight's favorite time of the year.

A moment or two had passed before Spike came rushing outside in a hurry. He bumped into Twilight hard, causing her to give him a bold glare, the one ponies give other ponies that are in a rush and make no attempt to sidestep you and hit you. Spike shook his head and snapped out of the trance he was in and began holding up a scroll in front of Twilight's face.

"What is that, Spike?" Twilight wondered.

"It's a letter from Princess Celestia!" Spike exclaimed.

"What does it say?" she asked.

"She wants you and your friends to report to Canterlot immediately!" Spike alerted. "She says something incredible has occurred!"

"Does it say what has happened?" Twilight eagerly responded.

"No," the baby dragon answered, "it just says to report to Canterlot with your friends."

"Then we'll do just that." Twilight said.

"We?" Spike questioned.

"Yes," continued Twilight, "you're one of my friends too, Spike. If Princess Celestia wants me to report to Canterlot with my friends, then why shouldn't you come?"

"Aww, thanks, Twilight." Spike replied, blushing a bit pink for a quick second.

Twilight smiled at him then went back to tell Lunar the news. Lunar nodded, then took off towards Canterlot ahead of Twilight, who ran out into town to go collect her friends. First up was Pinkie Pie and, instead of running into her at the Sugar Cube Corner, Twilight ran into her on her morning walk.

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight happily obliged.

"Hiya, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie shouted, running over to greet Twilight.

"Pinkie," Twilight started explaining, "Princess Celestia is requesting that she see us in Canterlot immediately."

"What for?" She asked.

"I don't know," continued Twilight, "but she wants us all to go there. She said that something incredible has happened!"

"Like what?" She asked again.

"I don't know," answered Twilight, "but I need you to go round up Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. I'll go get Applejack and meet you at the train station in about fifteen minutes. Okay?"

"Okie dokie, lokie!" Pinkie cheerfully told me, bouncing off to go fetch Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

"Come on, Spike." Twilight called, levitating Spike onto her back. "We need to go get Applejack."

"Right behind ya, Twilight." Spike answered.

With that, Twilight ran off down the road towards Applejack's farm, Sweet Apple Acres, while Spike held on tightly to her. It was early in the morning, but not early enough for Equestria's greatest and hardest working farm girl. She always worked from the crack of dawn, to the brink of sunset, though always managing to find and spend some time together with her dearest friends and family.

"What do you think Princess Celestia wants with us?" Spike asked Twilight as the two started to approach Sweet Apple Acres.

"I wish I knew, Spike," the petite, lavender colored princess answered, "but it sounded very, very important."

"You could say that again." Spike chimed.

Twilight smiled at Spike and noticed that they had arrived at the front entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. Out in front of the barn was Applejack, along with her little sister Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom was the first to notice Twilight and quickly greeted her as well as Spike.

"Hey, Twilight!" She shouted.

"Hello, Apple Bloom." replied Twilight.

Applejack heard Twilight and quickly turned around to greet her as well.

"Mornin', Twi," Applejack added. "Heya, Spike."

"Good morning, Applejack." Twilight said.

"Hello." Spike smiled.

Sweetie Belle, giving a very soft and dissatisfied sigh, looked up to both Twilight and Spike and also greeted them, though not as cheerfully as Applejack and Apple Bloom had.

"Oh, hey, Twilight," she heeded, depression heavily sounding in her voice.

"Hello, Sweetie Belle," responded Twilight, "how have you been holding up recently?"

"It's...it's been rough, Twilight," Sweetie Belle spoke, "but, I know that Rarity is looking down on me, telling me that she'll always remain a part of me forever."

"That's an excellent way of looking at this, Sweetie Belle," Twilight smiled, lifting Sweetie Belle's head with her hoof, "I'm sure Rarity would agree with me as well."

"So, not to be soundin' a bit rude here," Applejack cut it, "but why are ya here anyways?"

"Oh," Twilight said, completely forgetting to tell Applejack the news, "Princess Celestia requested that she see us in Canterlot right away."

"Canterlot, huh?" Applejack replied. "Well, Ah'd love ta go, but Ah'd have ta bring Apple Bloom an' Sweetie Belle wit' me. Granny Smith an' Big Macintosh are both over visitin' cousin Braeburn in order to get some important supplies for harvest season."

"No problem," Twilight said, "Princess Celestia did say to bring along my friends with me."

"Perfect." Applejack happily spoke.

"Come along, now," continued Twilight, "I want to get to Canterlot as soon as possible."

"Sure thing, Twilight," Applejack replied.

"Awesome," Apple Bloom cheered, "we get ta go to Can'erlot!"

"Why does Princess Celestia want to see us?" Sweetie Belle asked glumly.

"She says that something spectacular has happened and wants us to be there to see it, Sweetie Belle," answered Twilight.

Sweetie Belle looked curiously at Twilight, obviously wanting to know more. Unfortunately for her, Twilight told her all that she knew. Presently, the group of ponies (and dragon) all left Sweet Apple Acres and began heading for Ponyville Train Station in order to catch a train to Canterlot. The journey wasn't long for the group was rushing in order to catch the next train, which left in five minutes at the time.

Upon arriving at the train station, Pinkie Pie was already there, waiting for Applejack, Twilight, Spike, as well as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Waiting there alongside Pinkie Pie was Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. The two pegasi had begun questioning why they were all being summoned into Canterlot the second Twilight stepped hoof on to the platform.

"Princess Celestia said that something spectacular has occurred and that our presences are all required." Twilight reiterated.

"Something spectacular?" Rainbow Dash repeated.

"Yes."

"Like what?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"I'm not sure," replied Twilight, "but I want to find out just as much as you do."

Quickly thereafter, the train had begun to approach the station. The ponies eagerly awaited for the train to come to a stop.

"Next train to Canterlot!" shouted the conductor as the train began to let off steam.

"Come on," Twilight told everypony, "let's go see what has happened."

The large group of friends all boarded into the train after it had come to a complete stop and the doors opened up. They entered into the last car before the caboose and sat towards the rear of the car, taking the final three rows in the car. Once the doors to the train had shut, the journey to Canterlot had begun, seeing how the train began moving. Throughout the train ride to Canterlot, nopony spoke a single word, which was strange, believe it or not. Well...it was strange to Twilight.

* * *

The train had entered into the Canterlot train station fairly quickly, eventually coming to a stop and allowing the passengers on board to exit. Twilight, along with her friends, exited the train and then proceeded towards the Canterlot Castle. The glimmering, busy streets of Canterlot were shining and full of a lot of very important looking ponies, mares and colts alike. Twilight received plenty of recognition from everypony in the streets, seeing how they saw a Princess before their very eyes.

Twilight, clouded with thoughts, hadn't seen the streets of Canterlot this busy in a long, long time.

 _I think the last time they were this busy was when I was still a student back in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns,_ she thought to herself, _prior to me even moving to Ponyville, prior to Nightmare Moon - Princess Luna - returning._

The Canterlot Castle was just up ahead, and once the group of friends entered said castle, they were kindly escorted into the main hallway by two of Princess Celestia's royal guards.

"Princess Celestia is thrilled to show you what has happened," one guard told me.

"Do you know what has happened, kind sir?" asked Twilight.

"You'll soon find out." He answered, turning his head and smiling back at the group in the process.

The walk to the throne room wasn't a long one. Eventually, about five minutes to be precise, Twilight and company found themselves in front of the large throne room doors. One of the guards turned to Twilight and smiled.

"Here we are, Your Highness."

"Thank you, kind sirs." answered Twilight as the two guards opened up the door to the throne room.

Inside the throne room stood Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Prince Lunar, Princess Cadance, and Twilight's brother, Shining Armor. Twilight wasn't expecting a large crowd, nor all of the royal ponies to be gathered inside the same room, and was beyond shocked, as were her friends.

"Twily!" Shining Armor shouted.

"Shining Armor!" Twilight replied, rushing over to hug him. "It's been a long time since we've seen each other!"

"Tell me about it, little sis," he answered.

"How have you been?" Twilght asked, wanting so desperately to catch up with him and his life inside the Crystal Empire.

"I've been well, Twilight," he answered, "but let's save this for later. Princess Celestia has a special surprise for you and all your friends."

"That's right, Shining Armor," Princess Celestia chimed, "are you ready, Twilight?"

"The anticipation is killing us all, Princess," Twilight chuckled.

Princess Celestia smiled, then turned her head around, calling out to something. "You can come on out now."

At that very moment, Twilight and the others had heard hooves clacking against the marble floor, getting louder with each passing second. A pony eventually revealed themselves from the shadows of the rear of the throne room. They had white colored hooves and an elegant, long purple tail. Twilight felt her heart stop as she saw the cutie mark of this pony. It was three light blue gems.

"Rarity!" The group cried simultaneously.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle sobbed happily, running over to tightly hug her sister.

"Sweetie Belle," Rarity smiled, "everypony!"

"But...how?" Twilight asked, much confusion sounding in her voice.

"It's a miracle that even I can't explain, Twilight." Princess Celestia responded.

"She appeared before us herself," added Princess Luna, "and there was absolutely no trace of damage anywhere on her body."

Lunar went to Twilight and rested one of his hooves on her. "How you feel right now is how I felt when I first arrived. It is an unexplainable act of gratitude."

"It's true, Twilight," Rarity continued, "I woke up inside a coffin and used my magic to teleport me out of it and onto the ground. I looked around and saw the castle and decided to come here and asked what had happened."

"She came here and we were just as shocked and surprised as you all are now." Princess Luna explained.

"We examined her and found nothing wrong with her." added Princess Celestia. "She seemed to be just a normal, generous unicorn, while letting her know just exactly what had happened to her and to Equestria during the time she was gone."

"Right," continued Rarity, "and after Princess Celestia and Princess Luna took me in and cared for me for a brief period of time, I requested to see all of you."

"So I wrote the letter requesting you all to show up here," Princess Celestia said, "and I'm very glad you have brought Sweetie Belle along as well." She bent down and started conversing with Sweetie Belle. "She missed you dearly, Sweetie Belle, as I'm sure you did as well."

"This...this means the world to me," Sweetie Belle exclaimed, "thank you everypony..."

She hugged her older sister tightly once more, as did the rest of the group. They were all relatively positive and beaming now that they all saw Rarity once more.

"Twilight," Rarity called, "might I have a word with you privately for a brief moment?"

"Uh, well...sure, Rarity," obliged Twilight, unsure of what she wanted.

Rarity then led Twilight out of the throne room and into the main hallway. Upon exiting the throne room, Twilight dismissed the two royal guards that were around the doorway for the next five minutes.

"Are you sure, Princess Twilight?" One of them asked.

"Absolutely," Twilight replied, "you two are relieved of your duties for the next five minutes."

"If you need anything, Your Highness," he continued, "just call us."

"Thank you, sirs." Twilight told them as they left the area.

Rarity smiled at the petite princess and then embraced her once more in a hug before beginning what she wanted to tell her.

"Thank you..." She started, slowly sobbing a bit.

"For what?" questioned Twilight, unaware of what she was being thanked for.

"You took out the monster that was taking over my body." continued Rarity. "I'm very grateful for that, Twilight. I know that it was tough for you to...do what you did, but you did it for my protection and for the protection of everypony here in Equestria. I...I thank you eternally with my gratitude and apologize for your...burden." She embraced Twilight once more in a hug as tears began filling their eyes.

"You're very welcome, Rarity," Twilight said through her tears, "but I should be the one thanking you. I have one of my greatest friends back with us."

"You're welcome, Twilight," Rarity smiled, "now let us go bask in the glory with all our other friends."

"Of course," answered Twilight, "and I'm more than sure you want to spend some quality time with Sweetie Belle too, right?"

"More than ever." Rarity said.

Twilight smiled, then reopened the door to the throne room, where the two ponies were bombarded with hugs from all of their friends.

 _Having Rarity back with us is a Hearth's Warming miracle!_ Twilight beamed.

"Thank you, everypony!" Rarity told us. "I simply cannot wait to enjoy the rest of my life with all of my friends!"

"Neither can we, Rarity!" Everyone cried out.

Princess Celestia smiled at the enlarged group and allowed all of them to head back home with Rarity safe and sound. They all left the castle fairly quickly and decided to enjoy their time in the newly constructed Canterlot Town Square, along with Rarity. This was a special occasion to them all, seeing how it signified that all of their friendships were once again as strong as a horse.

* * *

After a long, exhilarating day in Canterlot, it was decided that the group should head home for the night, well most of them, at least. As for Twilight and Lunar, they decided to stay behind in Canterlot and catch up with Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. Princess Celestia told Twilight that they were both staying here for the night while somepony else watched over the Crystal Castle. A happy Twilight headed straight towards the Canterlot Castle with Lunar and went straight to see Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. As they began entering the castle again, they both saw Princess Luna up in the balcony, watching over her beloved moon. Twilight smiled and called out to her.

"Good evening, Princess Luna!" called Twilight.

"Good evening, Princess Twilight." She called back. "Good evening, Prince Lunar."

"Are Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor still awake?" Twilight asked her.

"Most certainly, Twilight." Princess Luna replied.

"Good," she replied, "I'll talk to you later, Princess Luna."

"Have a good night, Princess Twilight." Princess Luna responded. "I express the same to you, Prince Lunar."

"You have a good night as well, Princess Luna." Lunar told her as the two alicorns entered the castle.

"Good evening, Your Highness." One of Luna's royal guards spoke. "Good evening, Your Majesty."

"Good evening, kind sir." Lunar replied.

"Could you escort us to the room where Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are staying in tonight, please?" Twilight requested.

"Much obliged, Princess Twilight." He responded, escorting both alicorns down the main hallway. Eventually, they reached the room and the guard turned to and bowed at Twilight and Lunar. "Here we are, the room to Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor."

Twilight smiled. "Thank you, kind sir."

"Is there anything else that either of you need?" the guard asked.

"No," Lunar replied, "your services are completed. Thank you again."

"You're welcome." The guard then started walking back to his post.

Twilight giggled slightly, then knocked on the door. A couple of seconds later, the door opened up and Shining Armor was revealed to the lovebird alicorns. He appeared to be very happy and invited them both inside.

"Twilight!" Princess Cadance beamed delightfully. "Lunar!"

"Hello there!" Twilight replied.

"Good evening, Princess Cadance." Lunar smiled. He then bumped hooves with Shining Armor. "Hey."

"How's it goin'?" Shining Armor asked.

Lunar wrapped a wing around Twilight at that moment. "It's going good."

"That's good." He continued. He then paid attention to Twilight. "So how are you, kid?"

"Heh heh," chuckled Twilight, "I'm fine, Shining Armor."

Shining Armor smiled, then proceeded to ask another question. "How has things been with your...uhh..."

"Your condition." finished Princess Cadance.

"It's been fine," answered Twilight, receiving a ton of support from Lunar in the process, "I'm stuck like that forever, so I can only embrace my differences and not shun them."

"That's a great way to see it, Twilight," Princess Cadance praised.

"Do Mom and Dad know about it yet?" Shining Armor asked his little sister.

"Not yet," she answered, "Frankly, I'm not even sure if I should tell them...I mean, how do you explain that to Mom? 'Hey, Mom, just want to let you know that your daughter is a vampony, but don't worry about her, she's fine.' She'd freak out if she found out about this."

"You do have a very valid point, Twilight." Princess Cadance acknowledged. "I remember your parents from the days where I was foalsitting you and I know that they...won't take it lightly..."

"Tell me about it, Cadance," Twilight replied, "but enough about me and my condition. I'd rather keep that as quiet as possible. As far as anypony's concern is, I'm just a regular, normal alicorn."

"It is for the best." nodded Lunar.

Shining Armor agreed. "I suppose. I mean, imagine how your subjects would react if they knew that their Princess was a blood sucking vampony...that wouldn't sit well with them, and that definitely won't sit well with Princess Celestia."

"Right," Twilight continued, "but enough about me. How are you two doing? How's the Crystal Empire been lately?"

"The Crystal Empire is simply fine, Twilight," Princess Cadance said.

"The Crystal ponies have been giving off a ton of love and harmony recently." added Shining Armor.

"The Equestria Games are just around the corner, right?" asked Lunar.

"Maybe that's why they are so happy." Twilight thought.

"That is true," Princess Cadance smiled, "you remember how happy they were once they found out that we would be hosting the next Equestria Games, so that does seem like a very probable explanation."

"Very probable indeed, dear," Shining Armor added.

"What about you, you two?" Princess Cadance asked. "How are things in Ponyville? I'm hearing talks of Princess Celestia letting you rule there and also letting you rule over Manehattan, is that true?"

"It was," answered Twilight, "but we chose to watch over only Ponyville, not rule it. Don't get me wrong, I do consider myself to be a good leader, but I want things to remain as normal as they were prior to me becoming an alicorn. As for Manehattan, both Lunar and I chose to pass on it; we didn't want to rule over it."

"If that's what makes you happy, Twily," Shining Armor stated.

"Then we are happy as well." finished Princess Cadance.

"Thanks," Twiligth replied.

Some more time had passed by between the four royal ponies, conversing the entire way through. They had all shared some laughs, some shareable moments, cherished the memories of the the past, and thought about what will come in the future. Before long, Twilight had noticed that it was nearly the middle of the night. The trains usually stopped running at about this time and Twilight was a little more tired than usual, so Lunar and Twilight decided to sleep here with Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, as long as it was perfectly fine with them both.

"Of course it's fine with us, Twily," Shining Armor smiled.

"It is late and you both must be exhausted," added Princess Cadance, "it's perfectly fine with us letting you sleep here tonight."

"Thank you," Twilight and Lunar replied, "both of you."

"No problem at all, you two." Shining Armor smiled.

Twilight smiled back at my brother and made her way towards the spare bed that was inside the room along with Lunar. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor always slept together, so this was fine with them. Twilight and Lunar crawled under the covers into their bed together, as did Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in their bed, before the lights turned off. Twilight found herself deeply asleep quickly thereafter.

The next morning, both Twilight and Lunar woke up pretty early, as all Princesses and Princes do. The royal family, as Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, Cadance, Twilight, and Lunar are often called by everypony, was wide awake by sunrise. Once the sun rose, Princess Luna took off towards her room to get her much needed sleep. In the meantime, Twilight and Lunar enjoyed the crisp, cool morning air Canterlot had to offer together. It's been a while since either Twilight or Lunar basked in the glory of living in Canterlot, so they made it a goal to enjoy the morning air.

Shining Armor had found both Twilight and Lunar walking through the Canterlot Sculpture Garden, paying their respects towards the statue of their friends. He came up to the two alicorns and started having a conversation with them about Twilight.

"You sure that you'll be okay, Twilight?" He asked lowly, trying to not be loud.

"What do you mean?" Twilight responded.

"Your condition," he replied, "you aren't one of them any longer. And she isn't like you any longer either."

Shining Armor pointed a hoof at Rarity, meaning that both Twilight and Rarity had switched roles and that Twilight took over what Rarity once was. Twilight stared at my brother, giving Shining Armor some much needed assurance.

"Everything is fine." She smiled at him. "Lunar and I are making it a mission not to show that side of me to anypony. We don't need that to happen here again, plus, the increased strength could come in handy if Discord or any of them try harming Equestria."

"I suppose you're right, Twily," Shining Armor said, "like usual."

"I try my best, BBBFF." Twilight told him.

Shining Armor smiled, then placed a hoof on the princess' shoulder. "If you ever need anything, you know that I'll always be there for you."

"Thank you, Shining Armor." Twilight answered, embracing her brother in a big, sibling appreciative hug.

"Alright kid," he told Twilight, "Cadance and I have to get going. Gotta make sure everything is okay back home."

"I understand," Twilight said, "we have to get back home, too. I can't imagine how my friends must have felt, knowing that we stood here instead of going home with them."

"I'm sure they'll understand." Shining Armor assured Twilight.

"I'm sure too," Twilight replied, "and make sure to tell Cadance that I said 'Hi.'"

"Will do, little sister." Shining Armor smiled, hugging Twilight and bumping Lunar's hoof before leaving for home - The Crystal Empire.

Both Lunar and Twilight stared at the statue of their friends a little while longer before also preparing to go home. They knew that they were in for a big welcome, seeing how Rarity was with them once again.

"Come on, Lunar," Twilight smiled, turning around, "let's go home."

"After you, my Princess," Lunar acknowledged, walking with Twilight back to the train station.

* * *

Once the train had arrived at the station, both Lunar and Twilight had boarded it promptly. Oddly enough, they were both tired from spending time with Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, catching up on life and certain events and whatnot.

As always, the train ride back to Ponyville wasn't very long, but once Twilight and Lunar had arrived back at the Ponyville Train Station, the two alicorns were greeted warmly by their friends.

"Twilight!" They all shouted. "Lunar!"

"Hi girls!" called Twilight.

"Hey everypony!" Lunar added.

"How was Canterlot?" Rarity asked Twilight.

"It was good," Twilight answered.

"What did you do after we left?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Twilight looked over towards Lunar and, as they both assumed, they knew this question was going to come up. They both knew that they would need to derive a lie to excuse their visit with Shining Armor and Princess Cadance over themselves, but they opted to tell the truth instead after staring into each others' eyes for a brief period of time.

"We spent some time catching up with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor," Twilight explained.

"We hadn't seen them in a long time, so we figured that it was a good time to do so." Lunar added.

"What did you do with them in Canterlot?" Rarity asked curiously.

"Nothing too serious, Rarity," Lunar answered.

"We had some dinner, saw some stars, nothing really out there like a pony would do in Canterlot." Twilight smiled.

"Oh, how I long to live in Canterlot." Rarity chimed, like she always did.

"We could go there if you want to, you know." Robert pitched to Rarity.

"And leave my friends here in Ponyville?" Rarity immediately questioned. "I would never do such a thing like that. Who needs Canterlot when everything that makes you happy is sitting right before you?"

"Friendship is truly powerful." smiled Twilight.

"It sure is," Rarity replied, "why, just look at what it's done for me!"

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash began, "it brought you back from... _the living_ _ ** _deeeaaad_**_ _ _!__ Muahaha!"

"Oh come now, Rainbow Dash," Rarity scolded, "there's no reason to put it in that perspective."

"But it is true." protested Rainbow Dash.

"But I'd love it if you explained it as being given a second chance." Rarity explained. "Not the walking dead becoming undead."

"Now, now you two," Twilight called, trying to ease the situation, "let's just bask in the glory that we have our Rarity back with us once more."

"Right," Rarity agreed, "and let's also thank Twilight for transforming everypony back to what they once were!"

"Right," added Twilight, admittedly a bit slowly, "now we don't have to worry about anypony be-"

"Anypony but you," Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"What do you mean?" Robert asked.

"Oh, come on!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Twilight is still a vampony!"

"So?" Lunar asked.

"So who's to say that you won't go crazy like Rare and Rob did and go on an all-you-can-drink blood spree and do what they did?" Rainbow Dash protested. "Who's to say that that won't happen again with you, Twilight?"

"It won't happen again, Rainbow." Lunar responded, defending Twilight.

"How do you know that?" Rainbow Dash shot back, hovering directly in front of Lunar's face.

"Because I am a strong pony who can control myself from doing that!" Twilight answered back immediately after Rainbow Dash finished her question.

"And they weren't?" Rainbow Dash asked, turning towards Twilight and pointing towards Rarity and Robert.

"They are strong," Twilight responded, trying her best not to insult either one of them in the process, "but the spirit was stronger. I had it, and still have it, and I was the only one that the spirit could not take over. I am going to be just fine, Dash, and so are my subjects and Equestria, for that matter."

"I'll be there to say 'I told you so' the day that that happens once more, Twilight," Rainbow Dash told Twilight, "and trust me when I say that it will be one of the most hardest things I'll have to say if and when it does happen."

"Which it won't." Lunar protested.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes in disgust, which made Twilight slightly blow a fuse.

"Dash," Twilight said, "maybe I should let you know how this feels. Then we can see how hard it is to not lose control!"

"Uhh, Twily," Lunar interjected, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I have to agree with Lunar, Twilight," Fluttershy softly spoke.

"I can handle it, Lunar," Twilight replied, turning towards Rainbow Dash once more, "if she thinks it's so easy, she's about to be proven horrifically wrong."

"You want a bet!?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You're on!"

"Keep in mind, Rainbow, that you will no longer be a normal Pegasus anymore." Rarity warned.

"So?" Rainbow Dash smirked. "Super strength, super speed, the ability to heal quicker! How can that be a bad thing!? I'm prepared to make that sacrifice!"

"Are you sure you want to do that, Twilight?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"Fluttershy's right," added Applejack, "remembah that all that happened after Rarity bit Rob an' look what that led to. Are y'all sure that this is a good thing?"

While the group slightly bickered about Twilight's current condition, Twilight thought about it herself for a while. She was definitely voting against transforming Rainbow Dash into what she was, a vampony, but Twilight lost her temper the second Rainbow Dash called her a chicken which, on a side note, if you were unable to tell right now, Twilight has a very short temper, which is bad when you're a Princess like her, seeing how everypony comes to her for advice, ranging from the brightest of ponies, to the gloomiest of them.

"I'm not a chicken, Rainbow Dash!" shouted Twilight.

"So do it then!" Rainbow Dash challenged.

"Fine, then," Twilight answered, "I will!"

"Oh boy..." Applejack spoke.

"This isn't going to end well..." added Fluttershy.

"Twilight..." Lunar softly stated.

Twilight turned to Lunar. "It'll be okay, Lunar. I know what to do." She turned to Rainbow Dash again. "Hold still, Dash, this may hurt for just a sec."

"Nothing hurts me," Rainbow Dash replied, "do your worst!"

"If you insist." Twilight answered.

As the other ponies looked down out of a sense of shame, Twilight extended her fangs rapidly and drove them deep into Rainbow Dash's neck. She let out a quick yelp before covering up her mouth with her hoof while Twilight drew out some of Rainbow Dash's blood and began to drink it, which tasted awful in Twilight's opinion. She didn't take a lot; just enough to transform Rainbow Dash.

Twilight could agree with Fluttershy in saying that this will definitely not end well in the future - Rainbow Dash the vampony...sounds pretty sketchy to them all.

Twilight released her grip from Rainbow Dash and removed her fangs from her neck. Rainbow Dash started coughing some blood and Twilight immediately thought that she may have overdone it a bit.

"How do you feel, Rainbow?" Rarity asked.

"I...feel... _AWESOME_!" She shouted.

She flew through the air at her alarmingly fast paced speed, testing out her new speed and stopping to test out her new strength as well. Twilight rose an eyebrow at her while the other ponies glanced towards Twilight.

"Now let's see how long you can last being like this." Twilight told Rainbow Dash.

"It'll be easy, Twi!" Rainbow Dash insisted.

The other ponies shook their heads in disapproval.

"Suit yourself, Rainbow," Twilight replied, "but don't go driving your teeth into anypony else. If you do, I'll make sure that Celestia will deal with you personally."

"Relax, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, "you have nothing to worry about!"

 _ _I sure hope not...__ _Twilight_ thought before realizing her mistake. _What have I done? Why did I do that?_

"Thanks again, Twilight," Rainbow Dash showboated, "now I don't have anything to worry about!"

 _But I do...oh, sweet Celestia...what have I done?_ Twilight continued in her mind, looking down slightly. _What will you think of me? How will this play out? Will things be okay? Will history repeat itself? It always does! What in the hoof was I thinking of!?_

"Don't drive your teeth into anypony else now, Rainbow!" Lunar warned Rainbow Dash. "We don't want another vampony invasion again, now do we?"

"Relax, Lunar," Rainbow assured me, "none of you have anything to worry about!"

 _You have NO idea, Dash...no idea whatsoever._

Twilight couldn't face her friends any longer for today. It was only mid-morning, but Twilight already been through enough for today. She flew back home to her castle with Lunar and locked herself in her room, collapsing onto her bed. She held he pillow over her head and began screaming from under it. Twilight realized that she had just put her life in jeopardy by infecting Rainbow Dash.

 _Rainbow Dash!_ Twilight screamed internally. _Of all ponies, it_ _had_ _to be Rainbow Dash who went and blew my fuse. I love Rainbow Dash dearly as a friend, though let's be honest, she isn't known for keeping a promise over a span of...say, A LIFETIME! I. Am. A. Dead. Pony!_

Knocks came from her bedroom door and Twilight immediately shot her head up from under her pillow. She began to feel her heart sink as the piercing knocks suddenly became thuds. The first thing that came to mind was if Rainbow Dash had already broken her promise. She had tried to find the strength to answer the door, but there was none to be found.

"Twilight," Spike called, "are you okay in there?"

 _Thank Celestia that it's only Spike at my door and not Celestia...or Luna...or Celestia and Luna...or-_

"Twilight?" Lunar called.

Twilight got up from her bed and flew over to her door. She unlocked my door and allowed Spike and Lunar to come into the room. They both came in, closely following behind Twilight as she collapsed back onto her bed once more. Twilight then dragged the pillow back over her head again, but found it being forcefully removed by Spike himself while Lunar began rubbing Twilight's back softly.

"What's wrong, Twilight?" Spike asked soothingly.

"Oh, Spike," Twilight said through my tears, "I did something horrible..."

"What happened?" he asked again, not wanting to make any jokes seeing how the timing was impeccably off.

"I...bit Rainbow Dash and infected her-er-er..." Twilight cried, rushing into Lunar's hooves for comfort.

"Why did you do that?" Spike questioned. "Did you not remember what happened last time something like this happened?"

"I do, Spike," Twilight replied, "but...but...I..."

"Why did you do that?" he boldly asked.

"She angered Twilight," Lunar answered.

Twilight nodded, then cried some more. "And I...I just lost control..."

"That's no reason to infect one of your __friends__ , Twilight." Spike advised.

"I know," Twilight responded, "but she figured that being like this was easy, so I challenged her to see how hard it is to stay a normal pony...I...Oh, Spike...what do I do?"

"There, there, Twilight," Spike comforted Twilight, cradling her head in his small arms while Lunar went back to rubbing Twilight's back, "it'll be fine...Rainbow Dash is loyal and will keep a promise not to infect anypony else. I know it."

"I don't know, Spike," Twilight admitted, looking into Spike's green eyes, "I just can't see that promise lasting an eternity..."

Spike was just about to say something else, when they were all cut off by some intense screaming coming from outside. Lunar perched his ears up and pulled away from the bed to see what was going on. Twilight then lifted her head from Spike's arms and flew over to the balcony door and opened it up, stepping hoof out onto the balcony to see what all the ruckus was about.

"Princess Twilight!" somepony called out. "Prince Lunar!"

The two alicorns looked down from the balcony and saw Mayor Mare calling out to them. Both of them flew down to the ground so that they were within speaking distance. Twilight stepped onto the ground just in front of Mayor Mare and politely asked her what the trouble was while Lunar hovered up above.

"It's Rainbow Dash," Mayor Mare replied, "she's going crazy and biting everypony in sight..."

"No..." Twilight softly spoke. "Not again..."

"She has to be stopped!" the mayor told the two royal ponies.

"We'll see it that this stops, Mayor Mare," Lunar responded.

"Don't worry," Twilight assured the mayor, "I'll take care of this."

"Thank you, Princess Twilight, Prince Lunar." Mayor Mare responded before rushing off to go find safety.

Spike came rushing out of the house shortly afterwards and came up to Twilight, asking her what was wrong. Twilight looked down wearily at him and said nothing. Instead, she embraced her longest and most meaningful friend, who has been there with her from the very beginning back in Canterlot, in a very long hug.

"What's going on, Twilight?" Spike asked, hints of confusion showing in his voice.

"Spike," Twilight softly replied, "I love you." She then turned to Lunar and kissed him passionately on his lips. "I love you too, Lunar." She then held her head down lowly. "I love Rarity. I love Applejack. I love Fluttershy. I love Pinkie Pie. I love Rainbow Dash. I love Princess Celestia. I love Princess Luna. I love Princess Cadance. I love Prince Shining Armor. I love my mother. I love my father. I love everypony."

"Why are you saying that?" Spike asked.

"Because this is the last time you will see me." Twilight emotionlessly told him.

"The last time?" Spike reiterated.

Twilight flew off before answering and assured him that it was indeed the last time that anypony will see her. Lunar flew after Twilight, but was unable to catch up with her. The gap between the two alicorns slowly grew, but it was growing.

 _I knew Rainbow Dash wouldn't be able to keep a promise forever,_ Twilight cried to herself, _let alone even a few hours._

She felt tears be released from her eyes as she flew over towards a large cliff. Twilight touched the ground and peered her head over the side of the cliff, revealing a long and dangerously harmful fall.

"High enough," Twilight told herself.

She looked up into the clouds and cried some more. Twilight wept heavily, not wanting to do what she was about to do, but she had to do it.

"Twilight!"

Twilight turned and saw an exhausted Lunar touch base in front of her. He collected his much needed air, then hugged Twilight tightly.

"Please, Twilight," he cried, "there has to be another way..."

"I'm sorry, Lunar," Twilight cried as well, kissing Lunar on his lips – the last time she'll do so – before hugging him back. "I have to do this...it's the only way."

"Twilight..."

"I love you, Lunar..." Twilight quietly told him. "I will miss you very, very much and our friends."

"Please, Twilight..."

Twilight knew what had to be done. Since Rainbow Dash was infecting everypony, and she was the head vampony, there was only one thing that Twilight could do and that was to remove myself permanently. She stepped out over the side of the cliff and began falling at an alarmingly fast pace. Twilight felt her wings wanting to extend themselves from instinct, but she forced them to stay by her sides. Twilight closed her eyes and began remembering all the good times she's had along with her friends over the years...Nightmare Night, Hearth's Warming Eve, Hearts and Hooves Day, defeating plenty of villains along the way together. She thought back to the day she met each and every one of them, especially Lunar.

 _My coronation, all of our adventures, all we had been through...I will truly miss each and every one of them very, very much._

Twilight opened her eyes and saw the ground below her. She closed her eyes once more and said the last words she would ever say again.

"I have no regrets."

As for Lunar, he watched in horror as Twilight collided with the ground. He reached out for her as she fell, but came up short of his reach. He cried out on the cliff as the chilling thought that his beloved Twilight was gone forever sank in to his mind.

"Twilight..."

* * *

A few days had passed before a proper funeral was held for the late Princess Twilight. The funeral was held inside the main hall inside the Canterlot castle and was attended by many ponies of all kind and from all over Equestria. It was a tough moment, especially for Lunar and the rest of Twilight's friends, as they all watched the casket that housed Twilight's deceased body. Rainbow Dash took this especially hard.

 _It's all my fault,_ Rainbow Dash thought, _I did this...I_ _caused_ _this...She didn't have to die...not now...but, it was what I did that made_ her...She shook her head a bit. _Please, I'm Rainbow Dash...I can't show tears to anypony...but, Twilight was my friend...Twilight was_ _our_ _friend...an irreplaceable friend for that matter! Things will never be the same without Twilight..._

Moments later, Princess Celestia stepped up in front of all the ponies in the room and addressed them all. The funeral was just about to start.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia started saying, "was a phenomenal Princess. She was my best and brightest student and could pull off amazing miracles along with her friends Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Robert, Spike, and Prince Lunar Nights. She has performed many miracles, such as saving Equestria numerous times, reuniting me with my sister, Princess Luna, as well as many other things. It is with a heavy heart that I say that Twilight Sparkle...Princess Twilight Sparkle, excuse me, will be forever missed and has left us so suddenly. Princess Twilight Sparkle was an amazing student, a great leader, a wonderful friend, and will forever be missed. She was truly an irreplaceable pony to us all."

Silence trickled down thereafter briefly as some ponies began to weep. Hundreds of ponies lined up this hall, with thousands more lined up outside. Shining Armor, Twilight's brother, Princess Cadance, Twilight's parents as well as Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Spike, Robert, Rainbow Dash, and Lunar were all lined up behind Princess Celestia and were all dreadfully sobbing. Princess Celestia then turned around and faced towards a weakened Prince Lunar Nights.

"I understand that the Prince would like to say something regarding Princess Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia continued, "Prince Lunar?"

Before Lunar could go, Rainbow Dash held a hoof over his shoulder, holding him back. She nodded towards him and asked if she could go instead. Lunar replied with a silent nod and allowed Rainbow Dash to speak. Stepping up, Rainbow Dash wiped away some tears and began addressing the crowd of ponies in front of her.

"Twilight was an amazing friend," she began, "She was an amazing friend to us all. She's touched our hearts in ways that I didn't even think were possible. I stand before you today, not as a great athlete or as an awesome Pegasus, but as a little fragile filly; a filly who has just lost one of her greatest friends. From the very moment I met her back in Ponyville preparing for the annual Summer Sun Celebration all those years ago, I knew that we were going to be the best of friends, me and her. Together, we did just about everything together. I can say from past experiences that Twilight was there for me; for all of us. She will be truly missed and the world will no longer be the same without her presence."

Rainbow Dash wiped away more tears from her eyes as she stepped back towards the group of friends. They hugged each other as they all began to cry together. Soon after, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, and even Twilight's parents joined us in the hug. They were all crying for the loss of a historic and life changing pony and knew that nothing would ever be the same ever again.

 _And to think that this was all my fault..._ Rainbow Dash guiltily thought.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna broke away from the hug and used their magic to move Twilight's coffin outside, where a hole had been dug prior to the funeral starting. The ponies from inside the hall all followed them outside as they began to slowly lower Twilight into the ground.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia said, "forever may you rest in peace."

Twilight's coffin was fully encased in the ground thereafter and was starting to get covered up. It was tough looking at that but I had to be strong now...it's what Twilight would've wanted.

After she was buried, the funeral had ended and each of the ponies all went separate ways. Rainbow Dash approached the edge of Canterlot and looked out into the horizon. She looked down below her and saw that she was hanging above a fairly large cliff. Inside, Rainbow Dash felt that she couldn't be here any more and decided to join Twilight in the afterlife.

 _It's my fault that she's no longer here with us,_ Rainbow Dash contemplated, _it would be fair if I ended my life as well._

With nobody around to stop her, Rainbow Dash climbed up and over the railing protecting ponies from falling over and felt the wind brush against her rainbow colored mane. She took one last breath of air, then slowly fell over the side of the cliff, keeping her wings tucked in by her sides. She closed her eyes and began to remember all the good times she's had with her friends, knowing that she was happy with them all, especially Twilight.

 _She was truly an inspirational friend and I am honored to have met and lived alongside her,_ she thought, _most importantly, I am honored that I could have called Twilight my friend._

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth one final time and spoke the very last words that she would ever say again.

"I love you, Twilight Spark-"

* * *

Deep within the Everfree Forest, there lives some vicious creatures. They aren't as large as timberwolves are, but they are just as powerful and as dangerous as they are. These creatures, some ravenous, man-eating wolves – werewolves, to be exact – have rarely ever been seen by anyone in Equestria. These wolves fend for themselves and maul and obliterate anything that comes near them, easily outrunning everyone that dares approaches them.

Princess Twilight Sparkle and her body have been laying out in the middle of a completely secluded area, one where nopony has ever been before. She's been here for just under a month now, completely unable to move. Most ponies believe that her body is locked away and buried inside a coffin in the ground in Canterlot, but this is not the case. Ponies were unable to retrieve her body and buried an empty casket, leaving Twilight's body out here in the cold forest, waiting for something to happen. Perhaps this is what truly happens to us all when we die and depart from this sacred world. Nothing happens at all! Just a space taking body stuck here.

Twilight is only in this particular scenario because she was forced to do so. An epidemic was going throughout Ponyville, courtesy of, once again, Rainbow Dash, where everyone was becoming a blood sucking vampire pony, or vampony for short. Since this happened not to long ago, Twilight knew what to do; she knew what had to be done.

Since she herself was the head vampony, Twilight had to forcefully remove her from society and stop the epidemic and the transformation and deaths of innocent ponies. She told Spike that she loved him dearly, as well as everyone else, before flying off to save everyone from the madness. She jumped off the side of a cliff deep within the Everfree Forest and had committed suicide, though did manage to revert everyone back to normal, while also ceasing the dreaded vampony curse.

Not too long after that, Rainbow Dash also committed suicide because she couldn't live with the guilt and heartache of losing one of her best friends so abruptly. Rainbow Dash knew that Twilight's death was her fault, so she sought out to make things right. She thought that it wouldn't be fair for her to continue living while her greatest friend was dead, so she also removed herself from society by jumping off another cliff. "I love you Twilight Sparkle" were Rainbow Dash's last words before she had died.

Focusing on Twilight, though, her body had started to slightly decompose based off of how long she had been here. The smell was horrid to anyone who could sense it, but a couple of the creatures that surrounded the area found it breathtaking and addictive. A couple of them made shelter near Twilight's body and began guarding it. They made her body their own property and defended it from anyone who dared try to steal the body.

Granted, the body was double the size of the creatures, the werewolves to be more specific, but they guarded it as if Twilight were their Queen. Timberwolves stood no chance against the werewolves and cockatrices fared no better.

One night, with a full moon high up in the sky, one of the werewolves began howling, slowly being followed by all the others. This particular werewolf was diseased and had rabies. This werewolf was near the brink of death and needed to pass along its life to another host, as infections generally do. Once this werewolf stopped howling, he took it upon himself to quickly find a new host body to pass along the infection while the other wolves continued howling up into the sky.

There were no other creatures of living beings nearby that didn't have this infection already. Nobody, but Twilight, that is. Without hesitation, the werewolf made a break for Twilight's collapsed body. The other wolves noticed this and started to attack the diseased wolf, trying to stop him before he sank his sharp canine teeth into Twilight's decomposing skin.

The diseased wolf was quickly surrounded by all the other wolves and, when they all jumped at him at the same time, the diseased wolf ran under everyone and drove his teeth into Twilight's side, right under her left wing, which was being used as a pillow for some of the other wolves. The diseased wolf tore off a bit of Twilight's skin and ate it whole! He then ran off into the dark, mystifying forest alone, quickly being chased by all the other wolves.

Twilight's body was left all alone in the middle of the area in the middle of the night. Nobody came, nobody saw, nobody helped, nobody noticed. Twilight was left all by herself while the other wolves chased after the wolf that just took a bite of her. A few moments later, some screams and shouts of pain could be heard from within the forest, which caused a few birds to flee from the area, seeing how they were startled by the sudden screams.

Twilight's body - her wings, more specifically - began moving through the slight breeze that had picked up suddenly. The breeze brushed Twilight's wing above the hole in her body and laid it to rest there. A few short moments later, some blood had started dripping from the hole and onto Twilight's wing, ultimately dripping onto the cold dirt ground, drop by drop, slowly forming a puddle of blood, which continuously and surely grew to the diameter of a bike tire.

The wind picked up once more and shifted Twilight's mane, making it touch the puddle of blood whilst staining her gorgeous indigo mane. The wind picked up yet again and this time, it gently shuttered Twilight's eyelashes against each other.

The wolves were still out in the forest, probably mauling the diseased wolf that just ate a chunk of Twilight's skin, but the more they killed the diseased animal, the more things began happening to Twilight. Finally, when they had completed their mauling of the diseased wolf, Twilight's eyes had begun to slowly open. She felt dizzy and woozy, needing desperately to determine what exactly was happening right now. Her body had begun performing some unusual changes, increasing her height a bit and forming these unusual shaped hooves - furry hooves, if you will.

She found that her mane had increased several inches and was now flowing elegantly in the nighttime breeze, though this is something that never happened during the night with her mane the way it was. Her tail appeared to do the same, increasing several inches in length and, like her mane, began flowing through the air along with the gentle breeze of the night.

Twilight found some unusual strength all of a sudden and could finally stand atop her own furry hooves once more after laying on the ground dead for the last few weeks, close to a month, two months tops. She was fascinated by her newfound strength and took this opportunity to study her new body and features.

"What am I?" She asked herself, striking her gentle lips with her now sharp canine teeth, piercing them and causing it to bleed.

She heard some sounds coming from somewhere within the forest and began to shuffle backwards, until she began hearing the sounds come from behind her. Twilight shuffled to the center of the open area and tried flying out safely, but found herself to be too heavy with her new weight caused by her heavy fur. She frantically looked for a way out, but found nowhere to go.

Twilight Sparkle was trapped with no place to hide.

"Why can't I fly!?" wailed Twilight.

She tried desperately to fly away to safety. Try as she might, however, she would utterly fail in her attempts each and every time. Twilight soon found herself surrounded completely by nine little creatures - nine little creatures that appeared to strike Twilight at any given moment. Twilight glanced at each of the none creatures, trying her best to stay as perfectly calm as she normally was.

"Nice, little...creatures," Twilight squeaked, "nice creatures."

The nine creatures simply stared at Twilight, eyeballing her from top to bottom. They appeared to want to attack, but something didn't seem quite as right as anyone thought. Twilight took notice of this, then began studying some of her body features compared to the nine creatures. She noticed plenty of similar features - the sharp fangs, the furry body, the same type of muzzle - and came to a wild hypothesis that she was one of them. Trust me, it sounds insane, but what else could answer this in a logical explanation?

Suddenly, one of the creatures, the tallest one to be exact, slowly began to approach the befuddled revived Princess. Twilight held one of her hooves - her furry, furry hooves - in the air, like any feminine creature or animal would, while she was being approached. The creature stopped a few feet away from Twilight and looked up at the towering Princess, simply staring into her eyes.

"Uh, I-I don't want any trouble, little creature," Twilight uncomfortably requested, "really, I don't."

The creature, obviously lacking the ability to communicate, tilted his head slightly towards the right. Twilight shuffled backwards a bit while giving off an uncomfortable false smile. She turned around and proceeded to one direction, hoping that it would be the right direction to home, but was greeted to two of the remaining eight creatures circling around her.

Twilight took the note and faced the center creature once more. She felt a chilling breeze slowly creep along her backside and started to feel more uncomfortable than she had ever been before. The breeze caused her to outstretch her wings, revealing them to all nine creatures. The creatures were all mesmerized by Twilight's wings and soon grasped their attentions to the wings and away from Twilight. Well, most of them, anyway. The creature originally in the center still focused on Twilight's eyes. Twilight was growing a little more bashful as time continued to pass on by.

The creature in the center – who was still facing Twilight – Twilight assumed was the leader of these eight other creatures, who were now playfully batting at her two wings. She stared blankly into the creature's eyes and stared him down. The creature did the same to Twilight, but began growling at her after some time. The growling got the eight other creatures to cease their playing with Twilight's wings and rapidly draw a circle around Twilight - a very, very tightly constructed circle. Twilight, who was more than doubled the height of each creature, paid no attention towards any other creature, but the one who began the growling.

Twilight actually answered the creature's growl with one of her own, something she found surprising and shocking. Her sane self was wondering why she was growling, but something else inside of her told her to stand her ground. The creature then barked, closely being followed by barks coming from the eight other creatures, then from Twilight. An all out, nine-on-one brawl was on the brink of breaking out, until something else abruptly happened.

The growling and barking coming from the creatures and Twilight had awoken some slumbering timberwolves nearby. The timberwolves weren't fond of the bickering that was taking place not too far from them and began to take out their subliminal rage on the creatures and Twilight. The arguing stopped between Twilight and the creatures as they all sprinted out in different directions, frantically trying to get to safety.

Twilight unfortunately had tripped over and was left all alone on the ground as the creatures scattered from the area. The timberwolves took this wonderful opportunity to attempt to take out one of the main reasons for the scuffle and slowly approached Twilight.

Twilight tried getting back up, but couldn't manage to find a grip and stand atop her hooves. Time wasn't on her side neither, seeing how the timberwolves now towered over the collapsed Princess. All Twilight could do was shut her eyes and prepare for the worst, seeing how she was having a hard time performing basic magic and even flying. She cowered up and prepared for the worst to come as the timberwolves began growling at her.

Twilight braced herself for the worst to come, preparing for whatever the towering timberwolves were to do to her. She noticed that one of them started to get closer and that it revealed their sharp, wooden teeth. She had shut her eyes tightly and prepared for what it was about to do to her, but after nothing had happened for quite some time, she had reopened her eyes and noticed that the timberwolves were staring at something else now.

Twilight turned her attention from the timberwolves to whatever they were staring at and noticed the same nine little creatures from before. They had come back and were trying to help out Twilight now. The middle creature, the tallest one, stepped forward and started barking and growling at the timberwolves, of which they stepped away from Twilight and began to approach the creatures.

Twilight was thankful that the creatures that nearly attacked her were now helping her and took this opportunity to sprint away from her current location to someplace elsewhere. She had sprinted out to someplace east of her current location, hoping for the best that it was the right way home. She had sprinted for a while, hearing a few cries along the way. She didn't want to stop and see what the matter was, she just continued running.

A few miles later, Twilight noticed a fairly dim light, just one. She approached the light slowly and noticed that the light was emanating from an oddly shaped tree. Twilight glanced at the tree and noticed that something looked familiar about it, but she couldn't place her hoof on what exactly was so familiar about it. She approached the door and knocked slightly on it, receiving an answer a few moments later. In the doorway stood a multi-colored pony, one that Twilight had never really spotted before. Twilight never spotted this herself, but the pony standing in the doorway seemed to know Twilight.

"Princess Twilight," they started, "why this is quite the sight!"

"How do you know who I am?" Twilight questioned. "Who are you?"

"I am Zecora, don't you know?" Zecora stated. "I've known you since you were a younger foal. But what has happened to you? My eyes cannot believe what is true."

"I don't know what has happened to me..." Twilight coldly replied, hints of regret and confusion sounding in her voice.

"Come," Zecora continued, "let me see. Surely what has happened cannot be."

Twilight was shown inside the tree and looked around. The more she looked, the more she had remembered about this place. It may have taken a while for Twilight to take in and grasp some memory from the past, but it eventually hit her that she was inside Zecora's home and she finally remembered that Zecora wasn't a pony, that she was a zebra, a creature that is rare around these parts. Twilight also remembered that if this was Zecora's home, she mustn't be too far from her home back in Ponyville, her old home. She wondered if all of her friends were still there. She wondered if they had carried on with their lives or if they had forgotten about her already.

"Twilight Sparkle," Zecora said, "sit down here. I'll take a look and see just exactly what has you in a fear."

Twilight took a seat on the chair that Zecora had pointed to and immediately was being examined by Zecora closely. The so-called "exams" didn't last too long - about five minutes, to be precise - but it was within that short time frame that Zecora had learned what exactly Twilight has become.

"Princess Twilight," Zecora started after the tense silence filled the air, "I understand what you have become. You are some...some..."

"Some what?" Twilight eagerly anticipated.

"Twilight Sparkle," Zecora continued, "you have become a lycan."

That was the first time Twilight has never heard Zecora say a rhyme, though she paid little attention to that and more on what exactly she was now.

"A lycan?" Twilight asked. "What is that?"

"A lycan is a terrible wolf," Zecora answered, "a werewolf more specifically, and you are one now unfortunately. I do not know much about these things, Twilight. What you seek may be found with the Princess of the Night."

"Princess Luna may know more about lycans?" Twilight asked.

"Much more than I would know," Zecora stated, "my knowledge is far too low."

Twilight let that statement sink in before getting back up and leaving Zecora's home. She thanked Zecora for her time, who replied with a hug, as Twilight slowly exited the peculiarly shaped tree back towards Ponyville.

* * *

With some new kind of information about what she has become now a part of her, Twilight continued her pursuits towards Ponyville, her old home. It wasn't that far of a walk, but Twilight found it to feel like an eternity. Eventually, she made it back to Ponyville and started proceeding towards her oak tree home. It was easily locatable from where she was, so she simply followed the route to her home and took a real slow stride. She was exhausted and just really wanted to rest up. She knew who would be waiting for her once she got home and knew that an explanation was inevitable.

 _A lycan is a terrible wolf,_ Zecora's words rang inside Twilight's head, _a werewolf more specifically, and you are one now unfortunately._

What Twilight found truly mind boggling about the whole situation was that Zecora didn't have any background knowledge about lycans, even though she lived in the Everfree Forest, a portion of Equestria that featured creatures that were rarely ever seen by anyone at all.

Within a few more minutes, Twilight found herself located outside of her front door. She tried opening it with her magic, but she couldn't do so. Instead, she slowly raised a hoof up towards the doorknob and laid it to rest on it, but she did not open it yet. She sighed, wondering if she should even be here, wondering if her friends would even recognize her - not that they were inside her home, but still - or even if Spike or Lunar would recognize her, assuming that they still lived here. Those thoughts and hardships ran whizzing through her mind, but Twilight forced them in the back of her mind for the time being.

She opened up the door, revealing the large, circular room with tons of books lining up the shelves, just like it used to be. The lights were still on, even though it was the middle of the night. She walked around slowly, taking in the picture and the layout of how her home used to be so long ago.

Suddenly, Twilight heard someone coming down a flight of stairs, so she turned around and noticed her little purple baby dragon assistant, Spike, coming down the stairs slowly. Spike hadn't recognized Twilight at first, considering all the drastic changes that were made to Twilight's body, so he had his guard up sky high.

"Spike," Twilight started.

"Who are you?" Spike questioned. "How do you know my name?"

"I-It's me, Twilight."

"Yeah, right," Spike scoffed, "for your information, whoever you are, my dearest friend, the pony who meant the most to me, even more than Rarity, died almost two months ago. What makes you think that you can come in here and claim yourself as Twilight? That's insulting to her, Lunar, and to myself!"

"But, Spike," Twilight continued, "it's true."

"If you claim that you are Twilight," Spike continued, "then prove it!"

Another set of hooves could be heard coming down the stairs. Twilight looked up and saw that it was Lunar coming down them. Just like Spike, Lunar looked at Twilight and also failed to recognize her. He asked Spike what was going on, then got the details in return.

"This intruder is falsely accusing to be Twilight." Spike replied.

Lunar glanced at Twilight once more. "Are they now?"

"It's really me, Lunar!" Twilight begged.

"How do you know my name?" He asked.

"I can prove that it's me, guys." Twilight insisted.

"Then do it." Spike said.

Twilight didn't know what to do since she couldn't fly or perform any kind of magic spell at the moment. That's when it struck her: she was an alicorn. Not too many ponies are alicorns here in Equestria, so Twilight moved some of the fur that was covering up her horn and revealed her wings to Spike and Lunar. Both of their eyes grew wide and jaws were dropped as they both saw Twilight's wings and horn. The two quickly made a readjustment in their stature and started to shed tears of joy.

"It is you, Twilight!" Spike cried, running over to hug his greatest friend.

"I know it is, Spike," Twilight calmly answered, hugging her baby dragon back.

"But, how?" Lunar wondered, going over to hug Twilight tighter than he has ever hugged her before.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked right back.

"How did you come back?" Lunar continued, pulling himself from Twilight. He studied Twilight in more depth. "Better yet, what happened to you? Why do you have so much fur? What happened to your muzzle?"

"According to Zecora," Twilight started, "I am a lycan."

"What's a lycan?" Spike slowly asked.

"A lycan is a terrible wolf, a werewolf more specifically," Twilight answered, "but that's all I know."

"Zecora didn't have any further explanations?" Spike questioned.

"No," Twilight said, turning to Lunar, "but she said that Princess Luna may have some knowledge about what I have become."

"Princess Luna?" Spike scoffed. "Seriously?"

"It's worth a shot, Spike," Twilight replied, "any shot is a good shot."

"I suppose so," Spike agreed, "I just can't believe that you're back with us! I...I couldn't live without you any longer..."

"Nor could I, my dear." Lunar added, kissing Twilight's lips slowly.

"I'm happy to see you both too," Twilight smiled, returning Lunar's kiss with one of her own.

"Wait'll everypony hears about this!" Spike shouted. "They're not going to believe it!"

"I don't know if we should reveal to everypony that I'm back here in Ponyville quite just yet, Spike," Lunar claimed, "just our friends."

"Why do you say that?" Spike questioned.

"Look at me," Twilight said, spinning around briefly, "I am still a Princess - sort of - but can you imagine the mixed results I'd receive if everypony saw me like this? I would be viewed as a monster - which I suppose I am, in a way - instead of a noble Princess."

"I suppose you're right," Spike stated, "like usual, Twilight."

"I know I am, Spike," Twilight continued, "but let's wait until morning for us to tell our friends. Right now, I'm really tired...let's go to bed."

"You two go," Lunar aided, "I have some duties to perform before I can rest my head."

"If that's the case," Twilight responded, kissing Lunar once more, "see you in the morning?"

"I'll see you in the morning, Princess," smiled Lunar.

"Good." Twilight beamed.

"Goodnight, you two." Lunar said, leaving their home and flying into the sky to go meet Princess Luna.

"Goodnight, Lunar." Twilight and Spike replied, closing the door behind them.

"Let's get some rest, Spike," Twilight suggested, "whaddya say?"

"Right behind ya, Twilight." Spike chimed as they both proceeded up the stairs to the room above them.

Twilight entered the room after Spike, who headed straight to his bead inside the basket he used to sleep in as Twilight began pacing around next to it, trying to find a comfortable position. Spike noticed this quickly and proceeded to question Twilight's actions.

"Don't you want to sleep on your bed, Twilight?" He asked.

"This actually seems a bit more comfortable, Spike," Twilight replied as she found a comfortable position and laid herself down next to Spike.

"Suit yourself then." Spike said.

Twilight smiled, then yawned a bit. She closed her eyes and positioned her head in towards her body, then told Spike to have a wonderful sleep as they both wandered off into the mystical world of Dream Land. Twilight fell asleep soundly for the night, as did Spike, as they were now reunited and now a family once more.

* * *

It was morning when both Spike and Twilight the lycan had woken up. Usually, Twilight would have been up for about a couple of hours by now, but since Spike hadn't made a single sound, she couldn't tell that it was morning herself.

Eventually, Spike woke up and started stretching out his arms and back. He rubbed his eyes, then glanced over towards Twilight, smiling brightly once more.

"Good morning, Twilight," Spike calmly said, petting Twilight softly.

"Good morning, Spike," replied Twilight, yawning slightly.

"Haven't said that in ages," Spike claimed, referring to the 'Good morning' he just gave Twilight, "it feels good to say that once more."

"I'm sure it does, Spike," Twilight agreed, looking back at her tail for a quick second.

Something inside Twilight's mind was telling her that she should chase it. It sounded weird, but you know what they say, easy come, easy goes, right? Anyway, Twilight followed the voice inside her head and began chasing after her tail. Spike had climbed out of his bed and immediately noticed this, questioning Twilight and her actions yet again.

"Uh, Twilight," he started, "what are you doing?"

"Must chase tail." Twilight quietly responded. "Must chase tail."

"'Must chase tail'?" Spike reiterated. "And why is that?"

Twilight stopped chasing her tail and shook her head vigorously. She glanced over at Spike and smiled at him brightly.

"Let's go see Princess Luna," she suggested, "I want to know more about myself."

"I don't know, Twilight," Spike replied, "are you sure she'll know anything about you that you don't know?"

"Zecora said that the answers I seek are with Princess Luna," Twilight said, "besides, it's better than nothing, right?"

"I suppose you do make a good point." Spike stated.

"Better to go and pick out what she knows than to sit here and continuously wonder about it." Twilight added.

"But, don't you want to tell your friends first, Twilight?" Spike questioned.

Twilight sat and actually took the time to think about that logic. She hasn't seen her friends in a long time and they all think that she has still departed from this world.

 _Perhaps we should visit my friends first._ Twilight thought vigorously. _Then again, if we do end up doing that, what are the odds that they'll believe me? What are the odds that they'll recognize me, too?_ She glanced at Spike for a short time. _Spike didn't recognize me at first, nor did Lunar. I had to show them my wings and horn for them to believe me. Maybe that's the key to getting them to accept me for what I am now. After all, how many alicorns do they know in Equestria? Better yet, how many alicorns are in Equestria? I'm part of an exclusive population, filled with only five other ponies: Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Lunar, and – on a technical standpoint - Queen Chrysalis._

Twilight thought about this for a little while longer and was just about to give Spike an answer, but was cut off when a knock came at the door. Spike looked at Twilight, who looked back at Spike, and they both wondered who it could be and who should answer the door. If it wasn't one of their friends that was at the door, imagine how they could've reacted if the first thing they saw was this furry, tall lycan.

"You answer it, Spike," Twilight suggested, "if it isn't one of our friends, I don't want to cause a commotion about it."

"I see your point, Twilight," Spike replied as he trotted down the stairs to greet whoever it was that was knocking.

Twilight followed him down the stairs, but didn't allow herself to be seen by whoever was at the door by positioning herself near one of the far ends of the room. The knock came once more and Spike quickly answered it to reveal Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Lunar. Twilight's eyes grew wide as she spotted the three, and was even more anxious when they stepped inside. She revealed herself to Rarity and Pinkie Pie and stepped out into the light.

"Rarity," Twilight cried, "Pinkie Pie! It's me, Twilight!"

"Twilight?" They both responded, watching Twilight walk down the stairs and towards them.

"Yes!" assured Twilight, stopping in front of the two.

"But, but you look nothing like her." exclaimed Pinkie.

"And she has been gone for almost two months now!" Added Rarity. "What makes you think that you of all ponies could be her?"

"But it is her, Rarity," Spike defended Twilight, "really, it is."

"Oh, honestly now, Spikey-Wikey," continued Rarity, "what makes you think that this...this...thing could be Twilight?"

"It's okay, ladies," Lunar insisted. He turned towards Twilight. "Why don't you show them?"

Twilight nodded, then removed the fur that was covering her horn and spread out her wings, a sure sign that she was indeed who she was. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were both surprised and shocked and began embracing Twilight with a big hug, embracing and holding their dear friend for the first time in a long time. It was heartwarming and emotional, especially since it was the first time in a long time they've embraced in such a way.

"It is you, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie beamed.

"But, whatever happened to you?" Rarity asked, leaving the topic very broad for open discussion.

Twilight removed herself from both Rarity and Pinkie Pie and stepped next to Spike and Lunar. She sat down next to them and rubbed her body against Spike's claw slowly, replicating what appeared to be him petting her, though Twilight had to manually do it. Rarity and Pinkie Pie took note of this, as did Spike and Lunar, though no one said anything to Twilight about it.

"Umm...what happened to you, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie uncomfortably asked, repeating Rarity's question.

Twilight still remained silent while manually letting Spike pet her body. To Twilight, it felt soothing and calming but to Spike, however, it felt a bit unusual and weird. Since Twilight failed to answer the question that was asked, Spike took it upon himself to answer it for her.

"Uh," Spike coughed, "Twilight is uh...umm..."

"She's what?" An eager Rarity anticipated.

"She's turned into a...uhh..." Spike knew what she turned into, though didn't quite know how he should go about explaining it. He turned to Lunar for guidance.

"Go on, Spike," Pinkie Pie encouraged, "it's okay."

"She's right, Spikey-Wikey," agreed Rarity, "I'm sure that what has happened is easily reversible..."

"I don't know," Lunar answered, eyeing Twilight, "it may be hard to reverse this new curse..."

"What horrible luck Twilight has attracted to herself," Rarity claimed, "first a vampony...now...wh-what exactly is she again?"

"She's a..." Spike gulped for a quick second before answering Rarity's question at long last. "She's a lycan."

"A what?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"A lycan." Spike repeated.

"What's that?" Pinkie Pie asked once more.

"A lycan is-"

"A terrible werewolf!" Rarity interrupted.

"Yeah, exactly." Spike said, pausing for a quick second to think about how Rarity knew that. "How did you know that, Rarity?"

"Lycans are sworn enemies of vamponies, Spike," Rarity informed, "they have never really gotten along with each other..."

"But aren't all the vamponies gone since Twilight was the head vampony and...umm..." Spike never got to finish that question, though it was clear to Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Lunar where exactly that was headed.

"Not necessarily," Rarity spoke.

"Then..." Spike stuttered, "that means..."

"That somepony else is a vampony in place of Twilight." Rarity struck.

"But, who could it be?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Well," continued Rarity, "one thing is for sure: it cannot be Rainbow Dash - may she rest in peace."

"Who else could it be?" Lunar wondered.

Twilight began to fully listen in on the conversation, desperately wanting to take part in it. However, the voice inside her head was telling her to chase her tail once again, which she gladly did. The sudden movements scared Spike, sending him flying onto Pinkie Pie's back. This got Pinkie Pie to chuckle and Rarity to smirk a bit. Lunar eyed Twilight and was concerned as to what she was doing.

"Must chase tail." Twilight quietly said.

"Could you explain that, Rarity?" Spike boldly asked.

"Lycans are part wolf," started Rarity, "and since wolves are part of the dog family, lycans have a lot of similar traits to dogs."

"Well that explains it," Lunar stated, staring at Twilight.

"That looks fun!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, brushing Spike off her back and joining Twilight by spinning around in circles, chasing their own respective tail.

"Typical Pinkie Pie, I suppose," Spike said, standing back up and positioning himself next to Rarity.

Rarity calmly smiled, then paid attention towards Spike.

"Who else was a vampony by the time Twilight had..." There was a long silence that filled the remainder of the question that Spike so desperately wanted to ask Rarity, though never finalized it. Rarity, on the other hand, understood completely what Spike was trying to ask.

"That's the thing," Rarity replied, "it could be anypony. Even worse, it could be somepony who was never infected before! That's what I so desperately hate about that infection; you never know which pony is infected until it's too late..."

"We should bring this up with Princess Celestia." Spike suggested.

"Good idea, Spike." Rarity agreed.

"We were actually headed to Canterlot now in order to ask Princess Luna for some more information about lycans before you came here." Spike continued. "If you want, you can join us..."

"I'd be glad to join you, my little Spikey-Wikey..." Rarity responded. _I just hope we don't run into Robert while we are there_. Rarity thought to herself before heading out the door with Pinkie Pie, Spike, Lunar, and Twilight.

* * *

 _Not too shabby of a day wandering around Ponyville, to be honest._ Twilight thought to herself.

As a lycan, Twilight has a coat drawn over her body, hiding pretty much all of her features – her fur and her details, more specifically – herself from everyone around town while she, Lunar, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Spike all traveled to the Ponyville Train Station. Twilight managed to get a few voices inside her head that are telling her to chase her tail one more time and to sniff out certain ponies for some odd reason. She wanted to do these things, though Spike caught on quickly and helped make sure that they didn't happen at all, though that itself proved to be a hard task to complete.

The group of five arrived at the station platform fairly quickly and boarded onto the next train that was headed to Canterlot within about five minutes. The five friends sat down in the last car in front of the caboose and next to the window. They were by themselves in the coach, which was a good thing, seeing how Twilight was still trying to adjust back to the social life and regain some vital socialism and integrity.

The voice inside Twilight's head wanted her to stick her head out the window and allow the rapid wind to flow through her mane and simply "feel alive," to put in other words. However, since these windows were sealed shut, there was absolutely no way for her to open them up and do what the voice wanted her to do.

"You can really say that lycans are part dog, apparently," Spike commented, "can you?"

"Totally!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"To an extent," Rarity added, "what she wishes to do is somewhat cute. I don't care what you say about her, she is simply acting in an adorable fashion."

"At least there's no barking, howling, or growling," Spike continued, "right? That would be annoying to deal with."

"I suppose so," agreed Lunar.

"We should consider ourselves lucky then!" Pinkie Pie replied.

Rarity smiled, though rolled her eyes at the same time. Nobody else seemed to pick up on this, so Rarity decided to simply drop the motion and continue on. Twilight began to motion herself in an up-and-down motion next to Spike, manually letting him pet her body, just like before. Spike felt this and immediately tried ending it.

"Please," Spike begged to Twilight, "can you stop rubbing yourself against my claw...I'm starting to feel a bit uncomfortable."

"But it feels simply amazing." Twilight answered, slowly stopping the petting.

"Please, Twilight," continued Spike, "for me?"

"Fine..." A dissatisfied Twilight responded, ceasing the manual petting.

Ironic enough, once the petting stopped, the train had arrived inside the Canterlot Train Station and, once the train had come to a full and complete stop, the group of conjoined friends had gotten off the train and started proceeding towards the Canterlot Castle in order to alert both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna about Twilight and about the possibility of the vampony infection arising elsewhere. Rarity had started biting her lip because this meant that she may have to come face-to-face with Robert, her ex-husband and, more importantly, an escaped criminal. She felt devastated to hear the news that he was locked up inside the Canterlot dungeons for life and felt that it would be best to end that relationship as quick, easy, and painless as possible. Needless to say, Robert didn't take that too well, though there was nothing he could do to Rarity since he was already locked up for bringing harm to one of Equestria's most important ponies, Princess Luna.

Before long, the group of five had arrived just outside of the Canterlot Castle and were quickly approached by two of the royal guards.

"How may we help you all today?" One of them asked.

"We request to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," Lunar answered, "are they available?"

"Might we say what this meeting is regarding?" The other guard asked.

"It is regarding Princess Twilight Sparkle." Lunar replied.

"Just a moment while we check on Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." The two guards responded, turning around and contacting the two regal sisters of Equestria.

"How do you think they'll react once they see you, Twilight?" Spike wondered.

"Probably a bit flustered and confused." Twilight honestly answered.

"How so?" Pinkie Pie questioned.

Twilight answered that by spinning her body around in a brief circle, answering whatever questions Pinkie Pie could have possibly had looming in the back of her head. The two guards suddenly came back out and paid close attention to the five friends as they told them all that it was okay with the two princesses that they could see them.

The guards escorted the group to the doors of the Canterlot Throne Room and slowly opened up the large, heavy, double-wide door using their magic. Inside the throne room stood both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as the group started to slowly enter inside the throne room.

"Prince Lunar, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike..." Princess Celestia exclaimed. "What a pleasant surprise this is! What brings you here to Canterlot?"

"And who have you brought?" Princess Luna added, referring to the covered up Twilight.

"That's exactly why we're here, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." Lunar replied as he began to reveal Twilight to them.

Whilst removing the coat that was over Twilight, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia began questioning both what Lunar meant and what he was doing. The coat that covered Twilight was removed within seconds, but the results that the group hoped for were a tad mixed, to say the least. A few eyebrows were risen while the two regal sisters gazed at Twilight, though they both couldn't tell just yet that this was Twilight.

"What is that?" Princess Luna semi-sheepishly asked.

"She is Princess Twilight, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." Rarity answered.

" _That's_ Princess Twilight?" The two sisters asked simultaneously.

"What makes you think that she is Princess Twilight?" Princess Celestia added.

"Twilight," Lunar called, "if you would be so kind as to show them..."

Spike had his eyes shut while Lunar requested that. After a few moments, he didn't hear anything - no fur moving or wings expanding - so he opened his eyes rapidly to find that Twilight was a little further behind them, running around, chasing her tail. Spike blushed immediately and tried dragging Twilight back over towards where he was originally standing, next to Lunar, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Clearing his throat and giving an extremely uncomfortable chuckle, he requested that Twilight show Princess Luna and Princess Celestia that she was indeed herself.

"Sure thing, Spike." She cheerfully responded, moving the fur away from her horn and expanding her wings, showing them for everyone to see.

"See?" Pinkie Pie asked. "It is Twilight! Just a more playful one!"

Upon completing her sentence, Pinkie Pie demonstrated this by chasing her own tail in a playful manner, much like how Twilight did earlier. Twilight's eyes grew wide, so desperately wanting to join Pinkie Pie in chasing her tail, but was being held down by both Lunar and Rarity.

"But...how?" Princess Luna asked.

"What happened to you, Princess Twilight?" Princess Celestia added. "Why do you look like that?"

"It's actually a very logical explanation, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia." Twilight responded. "You see, I am a-"

"You're a lycan," Princess Luna interrupted, "I can tell."

"So it is true then," Twilight continued, "Zecora was right! You do know what I am."

"Of course." Luna replied.

"Do you know anything else that perhaps we don't know then, Princess Luna?" Spike hopefully asked.

"All I know is that lycans are part wolf - werewolf, more specifically - and that they are the sworn enemy of vamponies." Princess Luna explained. "Other than that, I can't really explain much about them."

"That actually brings me to my next item, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia." Rarity chimed.

"And what might that be, Rarity?" Princess Celestia asked.

"Since Twilight originally was the head vampony not too long ago and is now...this...playful lycan," continued Rarity, "that means that somepony else is now the head vampony..."

"That infection has gone away though," Princess Celestia claimed, "hasn't it?"

"I wish it has," Rarity answered, "the only way for that to fully disappear from our societal paths is for somepony to find a cure to it. But, putting that aside from us, the only pony we know for sure who can't be the head vampony is Rainbow Dash - may she rest in peace - but we don't know who it could be. Did you happen to spot anypony acting in a strange fashion, Your Highnesses?"

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both exchanged emotionless looks. They hadn't really thought about noting anyone's different behaviors, so they couldn't tell who the head vampony was. Now, they promised to make it a vital effort to spot any differences, no matter how slight it may be.

"Thank you, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." Rarity thanked.

"Thank you for bringing that to our attention, Rarity." Princess Celestia remarked.

"Now," Princess Luna continued, "about Princess Twilight..."

"I say we trim her coat a bit," Princess Celestia suggested, "make her appear as if she were a normal pony. What do you think, Princess Luna?"

"It sounds like a terrific idea, my sister," Princess Luna smiled, "but, she won't appear to be a normal pony any longer."

"Oh," Princess Celestia remarked, "and why is that?"

"Take a look at her hooves and you'll see why." Princess Luna answered.

Princess Celestia glanced over at Twilight's hooves, as did Spike, Lunar, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, only to find out that they weren't shaped like hooves anymore. Instead, they were shaped like how the paws on a dog or a wolf are shaped.

"...she has paws now, my sister." finished Princess Luna.

"That may be a problem if somepony really stares at Twilight for an extended period of time..." Rarity claimed.

"My sentiments exactly, Rarity." Princess Luna said.

"So how do we go about that?" Spike wondered.

"You leave that to me, Spike." Rarity confidently spoke.

* * *

Some hours have passed by since Princess Luna and Princess Celestia were reintroduced to Twilight - now as a lycan - thanks to Spike, Lunar, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Through that time, Twilight has undergone some drastic, fairly obvious changes. Her fur has shrunk in length considerably, courtesy of Rarity, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. They have done their best to trim Twilight's coat and make her appear as if she were a normal looking pony - an alicorn, more specifically - though, as best as they can do, they can't change how Twilight's lower half looks.

"That's the best we can do, Twilight," Rarity exclaimed.

"It's certainly a lot better than how I was before." Twilight responded.

"I just wish there was something that we could do to those paws of yours..." Princess Luna added.

"Honestly," continued Twilight, "I don't mind them."

"Really?" Rarity half-sarcastically asked.

"Not at all," answered Twilight. "In fact, they feel a lot more comforting now than as hooves."

"How's that?" Lunar replied, cocking an eyebrow.

"Explain yourself." Rarity requested. "I'm not entirely following you."

"Sure, Rarity," Twilight said, "these paws that I have now are a lot more softer and smoother than hooves."

"So...you prefer them?" asked Spike.

"A lot, actually," answered Twilight.

That statement got a few eyebrows being raised as a response to that answer. Either way, it was Twilight's choice whether or not she liked her paws instead of hooves. Speaking of which, they still needed to be dealt with if she had any chance of becoming a "regular" alicorn.

"How shall we hide them?" Princess Luna questioned.

"Some specially designed shoes could do it." Rarity replied. "But, do you really want to go around for the rest of your life wearing them in public areas, darling?"

"It sound like I don't have a choice." Twilight meekly replied, slowly dazing off and focusing a bit more on her tail.

"That's why I'm giving you one, dear." Rarity said.

"Huh?" Twilight replied, focusing only on her tail, desperately wanting to chase it. "Sure, that...sounds..."

"Uhh, Twilight," Lunar called, "are you all right?"

"Go ahead, Pinkie..." Twilight said slowly.

"I said that, Twilight," Lunar continued, "not Pinkie."

"...two...sounds...nice, Rarity." Twilight stated, still mesmerized by her tail.

"Snap out of it, Twilight!" Spike scolded, grabbing Twilight's face with both of his claws and vigorously shaking it back and forth.

"Huh? What?" A dazed Twilight looked around.

"Rarity asked if you wanted to wear shoes to cover up your paws." Pinkie Pie explained.

"I don't really have much of a choice," Twilight reiterated, "do I?"

"That's why she's giving you one," Princess Celestia smiled.

"...in that case," Twilight continued, "why not? No harm in it, right?"

"Not at all," Rarity buoyantly replied, "but it may take a while since I've never made anything like that for...paws. Only hooves."

"Thank you very much, Rarity," Twilight condoled, "your generosity is simply fantastic."

"It's what friends do for each other, darling." Rarity replied.

That got Twilight to smile very, very brightly. She hasn't smiled like this since Rarity originally married Robert such a long time ago. Nowadays, Robert lays prisoner inside the Canterlot dungeon, serving his time for threatening the life of a princess and many other innocent civilians. It was then - Robert's sentencing - that Rarity divorced him and she has yet to see him since - a predicament she wishes to keep like that.

"I want to thank each and every one of you for helping me out so much." Twilight said. "It means a lot to me that you've all tried and done everything that you could to help make me a normal looking alicorn once more."

"It was our pleasure, Twilight," Princess Celestia replied.

"We did it because we love you, Twilight." Rarity added.

"Not to mention the fun it was too!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"Just remember to always get it trimmed every couple of weeks or so," Princess Luna reminded Twilight, "that way it won't grow out that drastically again and you can stay as normal as possible."

"I will, Princess Luna," replied Twilight, "I'm sure Lunar can help remind me as well, right Lunar?"

"I'll do my part in reminding you, Twily," smiled Lunar.

Twilight smiled as well, continuing to address everyone again. "And thank you all for the generosity and even more thanks to you, Princess Luna, for the information on what I've become."

"The pleasure is all mine." Princess Luna said.

"Now you best get going," Princess Celestia added, "reintroduce yourself to your other friends and Ponyville. I'm sure they'll all be glad to see that you're back with us once more."

"I will, Princess Celestia," Twilight said, "thank you."

"No," continued Princess Celestia, "thank you."

With that said, Twilight, Lunar, Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all started for the door back to the Canterlot Train Station, until suddenly, Princess Luna requested that Rarity stay a bit longer.

"What for, Princess Luna?" Rarity shockingly asked.

"I need to speak with you in private," Princess Luna requested, "if that doesn't conflict with you in any way."

"But of course," Rarity answered. Turning towards her friends, she bid them adieu and approached Princess Luna.

"My sister," Princess Luna stated, "if you'll excuse us."

"Go right ahead, Princess Luna." Princess Celestia remarked.

Princess Luna climbed down from her throne and approached Rarity. Placing a hoof on her shoulder, she told Rarity to follow her. The two ponies proceeded out of the throne room and started walking quickly down one of the halls. Rarity grew nervous, so she decided to break the silence between her and Princess Luna.

"Is something the matter, Princess Luna?" Rarity asked.

"Not really," Princess Luna responded.

"Then why did you request to see me?"

Princess Luna sighed a bit, "Besides Robert requesting to see you," she started, "I may have a feeling who the new head vampony may be."

"With all due respect, Princess Luna," Rarity started, "but I really wish to not see him now."

"No," responded Princess Luna, "that's not where we're going. I know you don't want to see him now, possibly ever again. I'm taking you to a safe zone so that I can discuss the important matters of who the head vampony might be."

Rarity sighed with relief. She desperately didn't want to see her ex-husband Robert at all. He threatened to destroy her the day he was released from the dungeons, though Rarity knew that that threat would never come to pass since Robert was serving a life sentence in the dungeon.

Princess Luna led the way down one of the long hallways in the castle, stopping just before the final door in the hall. Looking around to make sure the coast was clear, she opened the door with her magic and led Rarity inside the room. This room - a room Rarity had never seen before - was as dark as Princess Luna's coat was. The walls were painted a very dark indigo color and featured a lot of features that you would see up in a night sky. Once Rarity entered the room, Princess Luna shut the door slowly so that nobody would hear it and began laying down the important matters.

"This," started Princess Luna, "is my room."

"It's so extravagant," exclaimed Rarity, "I like it."

"Thank you," smiled Princess Luna, "now, let's get right down to it."

"Of course."

"I have a few candidates as to who the new head vampony could be," continued Princess Luna.

"And who might they be?" Rarity asked.

"I have a few ponies in mind," Princess Luna replied, "first on the list is you."

"Why would you assume me first?" Rarity questioned.

"I only do since you used to be a head vampony yourself." Princess Luna explained.

"But I'm not one anymore." Rarity said.

"But the world has a way of bringing out the most weirdest of predicaments." Luna answered. "Second on the list is Robert."

Rarity gripped her lips tightly. She felt an odd sensation when she heard that but determined to leave it be.

"Third is Rainbow Dash," continued Luna.

"But how?" Rarity questioned. "She's...gone."

"Like I said," Luna said, "the world has its way of bringing out the most weirdest of predicaments."

"I suppose so..." Rarity meekly stated.

"Last," Luna continued, "is myself. Though I haven't felt anything weird yet, I shan't be too calm about it. If anything changes, I'll let Princess Celestia know about it immediately; you should do the same."

"I will." Rarity stated.

The two continued talking for a little while longer in private, trying to figure out a possible target on who the new head vampony in Equestria was.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, Spike Lunar, and Pinkie Pie were out taking Twilight to go see Applejack and Fluttershy so they could see her once more.

"I wonder what Princess Luna wanted with Rarity." Spike wondered.

"I don't know," Twilight replied, "but it must...have...been..."

Twilight was being mesmerized once again by her tail. Spike noticed this and quickly snapped Twilight out of the trance as they continued walking down the path towards Sweet Apple Acres.

"You really need to learn how to focus, Twilight." Lunar stated, smirking slightly.

Twilight shot a mean look at Lunar, not catching his smirk, and said nothing to him. Deep down, she knew that he was right. She was having a hard time concentrating because of her inability to not be mesmerized by her own furry, bushy tail. She so desperately wanted to chase it, but that wouldn't seem normal since ponies don't chase their tails.

Up ahead in the distance, Spike, Lunar, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight could see Applejack hard at work, bucking some apple trees. It was around this time of year where apple bucking season started, so this was the time to collect every single, juicy, red apple. Of course, this meant that cider season was also rapidly approaching the ponies, something that Rainbow Dash would have enjoyed very, very much. Applejack has promised to set aside one cup of cider in remembrance of Rainbow Dash, claiming that this cup would be hers.

Spike, Lunar, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight stepped onto the property and approached Applejack, who was hard at work at the moment.

"Hey, Applejack!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"Afternoon, AJ," Lunar added.

"Howdy, Spike," Applejack replied, "hey Pinkie, Lunar."

Applejack noticed Twilight behind Spike, Lunar, and Pinkie Pie and started approaching her.

"Twilight?" Applejack questioned.

"Hi, Applejack." Twilight said, embracing the farm girl with a hug.

"But...but how?" Applejack wondered, noticing Twilight's different features. "And what in Equestria happened to ya?"

Twilight smiled, "You see, Applejack, I-"

"She's become a lycan!" Pinkie Pie interrupted.

"A what?" Applejack replied.

"A lycan." Twilight answered.

"What in the hay is uh lycan?" Applejack questioned.

"A lycan is sort of like a wolf." Twilight stated.

"She's become one and now shares a bunch of traits with wolves now." Spike added.

"And a bunch of them are silly!" Pinkie Pie claimed. "Like, Twilight likes chasing her tail now!"

"But I do still have a horn and wings, if you're wondering, Applejack." Twilight continued. "You can already see the horn, but here's my wings to show that I am still the same pony as before..."

She spread out her wings and showed them to Applejack. Applejack gasped and embraced Twilight in a hug once more.

"Y'all have no idea how relieved Ah am tah see ya once more, Twilight." Applejack said, trying to fight back some tears.

"I'm sure you're as happy and relieved as I am," Twilight replied, trying to do the exact same.

* * *

It's been such a busy day for Twilight, the lycan-turned-alicorn, as she has been reintroducing herself to society, namely, Ponyville. First up came Applejack, who was fighting back tears as she embraced the royal Princess with a hug. Up next was Fluttershy. As the group of friends started going to Fluttershy's cottage, they met many of the various ponies along the way, reintroducing Twilight to all of them, but not explaining what happened to her. It was best to not tell them how Twilight came to be a lycan or even that she wasn't a true pony any longer.

"This is starting to become all nostalgic memories again." Twilight claimed as they rapidly approached Fluttershy's cottage.

"Whaddya mean, Twi?" Applejack asked.

"It's been so long since I've seen all of this," she continued, "that I'm remembering all of the good times we've had so long ago."

"Yeah," Lunar agreed, "it's somethin' alright."

Twilight smiled as they all crossed the little bridge Fluttershy had and onto her property. Soon enough, they reached the door and Twilight positioned herself behind Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Spike knocked on the door and almost instantly did Fluttershy's pet bunny, Angel, answer the door. Spike scoffed at Angel, but did ask if Fluttershy was home. Angel left the door then and a few moments later, Fluttershy was standing in the doorway.

"Hi, Spike," she started, noticing Applejack and Pinkie Pie behind him, "hey Applejack. Hi, Pinkie Pie. Hello, Lunar."

"How are you doing today, Fluttershy?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"I'm fine, I guess," answered Fluttershy, "why do you ask, if you don't mind answering?"

"We have a surprise for ya, Fluttershy!" Applejack replied.

"A-A surprise?" Fluttershy squeaked. "I don't really like surprises girls..."

"You'll love this one, Fluttershy!" Lunar claimed.

"Why's that?" Fluttershy skeptically asked.

The others simply smiled as Applejack and Pinkie Pie made way for Twilight, revealing her to Fluttershy. Fluttershy squealed, then gasped, then squealed again. She looked at Lunar, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, asking them if this was Twilight and that they weren't just playing a cruel joke on her.

"It is, Fluttershy," smiled Twilight, "it isn't a joke, it really is me."

"But how?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't know," replied Twilight, "but here I am."

Fluttershy smiled brightly in response, then started focusing her attention on Twilight's figures and details, noticing quickly that they had changed since the last time they saw each other.

"What happened to you, Twilight?" Fluttershy wondered.

"You see, Fluttershy," Twilight began, "I am-"

"She's become a lycan, Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie interrupted again.

Fluttershy tilted her head a bit and rose an eyebrow. "A lycan?"

"A lycan is similar to a wolf, Fluttershy." Twilight replied.

"They share the same traits as wolves do as well." Spike added.

"Totally!" Shouted Pinkie Pie. "Like, Twilight likes to chase her tail! It's so super adorable and super amazingly awesomely cute!"

Fluttershy glanced back from Pinkie Pie, whom was demonstrating to Fluttershy how Twilight likes to chase her tail by chasing her own, and over to Twilight. She still seemed a bit flustered, so Applejack stepped up and settled one of her hooves on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"It's alright, sugar cube," Applejack said, "Ah di'n't get it either tha first time."

Fluttershy looked from Twilight to Applejack and replied to her.

"It's not that I don't get it or anything," she said, "it's just that...I'm t-t-terrified of lycans..."

That got Twilight to raise her ears and perch them slightly. Casually nearing Fluttershy, Twilight tried to ease her of her fears.

"It's okay, Fluttershy," Twilight started, "you know me. I won't hurt anypony. You don't have to be scared of me because I'm a lycan now."

Twilight held out one of her paws and awaited Fluttershy to do the same with one of her hooves. Fluttershy cowered up a bit, refusing to touch Twilight's paw.

"I know you wouldn't hurt anypony, Twilight," she explained, "but I just don't trust lycans in general. Nothing personal against you; it's just the way I feel."

Twilight, who was hurt on the inside for failing to receive some satisfaction and gratitude from Fluttershy, understood why Fluttershy felt this way. She sought to help attempt to change her mind about how lycans were, no matter how long it would take.

"I am happy to see you back here, Twilight." Fluttershy claimed after some awkward silence settled in.

"As am I, Fluttershy." Twilight smiled back. She turned towards Applejack, wanting to ask her a question. "I noticed," she started, "I haven't seen Rainbow Dash at all since I've come back. Where is she?"

Applejack bit her lip, facing Pinkie Pie in the process. Pinkie Pie was looking up into the clouds, trying to find any kind of distraction quickly. Fluttershy looked down at Spike, who looked back at Twilight with a set of heavy looking eyes. As for Lunar, he was scratching the back of his neck, not making eye contact with anyone at all. Twilight glanced around her, noticing these unusual acts and quickly questioned them all.

"What's the matter, everypony?" She asked.

"Well," began Applejack, "uh...ya see, Twilight..."

"Yes?" Twilight responded.

"Oof..." Applejack replied quietly.

"Umm..." Pinkie Pie coughed. "Rainbow Dash..."

"Yes?" Twilight repeated.

"Twilight," Fluttershy said, "Rainbow Dash...is...uhh..."

"She's?"

"How do we put this...?" Lunar asked softly.

Spike sighed, taking the pressure off of everyone else by explaining to Twilight what happened to Rainbow Dash.

"Twilight," he started, "Rainbow Dash...died."

Twilight gasped, then saw everyone's look when Spike confirmed with her what had happened to Rainbow Dash. She felt very bad for asking and joined with all of her friends as they looked down at the ground in a sad, depressed way.

* * *

 _ **~Somewhere, far, far away, towards the outskirts of Canterlot~**_

On the ground, there lays the one and only Element of Loyalty. It's been far too long since she's been alive, same as Twilight. Her body has been untouched for the entire time; nobody knows she's even here...they just know that she's gone.

 **Oh, the contrary though. She isn't truly gone from Equestria. What do I mean? Well, for one thing, she has passed, I'll give you that. However, not all spirits get an eternal peace kept soul. For Miss Rainbow Dash, her spirit still roams Equestria. What do I mean, you ask? Well, to put it in fairly simple terms, Rainbow Dash is a wandering ghost.**

 **This, according to Rainbow Dash, was both awesome and frightening. She loved the fact that she could easily fly through walls now and scare anyone she wanted to, but she felt lonely and misunderstood to everyone. Granted, nobody could see this petrifying ghost, but she was still the same old Rainbow Dash we bronies/pegasisters know today; she's just...changed a bit, that's all.**

 **Now, now...what am I supposed to do? Write her back to life randomly? That kind of plot wouldn't make much of a story, now would it? What kind of author do you take me as (kudos to those who read that with Discord's voice)? Would you like to know what exactly Rainbow Dash is doing here? You wouldn't?**

 **Hmm...well this is a bit awkward...you don't want to know about Rainbow Dash, though in order for this story to continue, I have to tell you...what to do, what to do? Screw it! Y'know what? I'mma tell ya anyways!**

 **Rainbow Dash is currently flying through the air, feeling the wind travel rapidly through her body. There...I told you.**

 **Now, now, Derpy...professionalism is key here. Now where were we?**

* * *

"Why am I still here?" Rainbow Dash asked herself. "Where am I?"

Rainbow Dash looked all around and noticed that she was in a secluded area all by herself. She looked down towards the ground and noticed her collapsed - and somewhat maimed - body laying across the ground. She noticed this and held her hooves up to her mouth instinctively and immediately. She started shaking fearfully and began responding to what she was seeing.

"Did...did I do that?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

She looked down at her front hooves and used them to cover up her eyes. Rainbow Dash began mourning over her own loss, a tad alarmed that no tears came from her eyes, though she doesn't know that ghosts don't cry. She shaped fists from her hooves and hurriedly stormed off into the eerie night sky.

She flew off into the distance towards Ponyville, desperately wanting to see her friends. She flapped her wings very hard, but was unable to pull herself off of the ground. Instead, Rainbow Dash simply hovered in the air like any ghost does. How exactly does she fly you ask? Well, why don't you ask King Boo that same question.

Anyways, once Rainbow Dash finally caught a glimpse of Ponyville in the near distance, she sped up a bit and, upon entering the little, run-of-the-mill town, hovered closer to the ground in order to find her friends more easily. She searched left and right, up and down, in and out of every single street and pathway, searching for one of her friends, any of her friends.

Nighttime was upon the citizens of Ponyville and Rainbow Dash gravely assumed that each and every one of her friends were at home, sleeping in their beds. She sighed soundly, voice slightly echoing throughout the air around her.

"Perhaps I should check their homes out." Rainbow Dash suggested to herself.

Since Applejack was her next closest friend, Rainbow Dash decided to check out Sweet Apple Acres first. She wanted answers as to what happened and why she was still roaming Equestria, so she wanted to see if maybe Applejack had those answers, though it appeared to have been a complete long shot. Rainbow Dash hovered towards Sweet Apple Acres as quickly as she could, which resulted in a trip of about three minutes.

Upon arriving at Sweet Apple Acres, Rainbow Dash noticed a bright light coming from the barn and some relatively loud music. She quickly wondered what all the commotion was and quickly hovered over into the barn. Looking into it, she saw her friends and gasped.

"What in the...?" She asked, noticing that her friends were having a party.

Rainbow Dash felt a bit hurt. She wanted to know why they were partying since it hasn't been that long of a time since she herself had passed on.

A quick thought had entered into Rainbow Dash's mind, a thought that said that she should haunt this barn. However, before she proceeded with that thought, Rainbow Dash had caught a glimpse of another pony inside the barn. From afar, she could easily see Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. Once a few moments more had passed by, Rainbow Dash could see Fluttershy, Lunar, and someone else.

"Who is that?" She wondered, hovering into the barn to get a better glimpse of the unknown pony.

Rainbow Dash hovered in front of the unknown being, wondering just exactly who they were. They weren't a Pegasus, so Rainbow Dash rapidly erased the idea that she'd been replaced, though they did have a horn to go with their purple coat color.

"Her coat..." Rainbow Dash said to herself. "It's longer than the average pony. She can't be just another unicorn or anything."

Without missing a single beat, the "pony" Rainbow Dash was glancing at shot their ears up and quickly looked at Rainbow. This sudden action got both Rainbow Dash to hover back a bit and startled the other ponies. Applejack was the only pony to question what was wrong.

"Uhh, is somethin' the matter?" She asked.

The unknown pony started sniffing in the air. Rainbow Dash, who unknowingly set her hooves on the ground next to Applejack, tilted her head in confusion, as did the others.

"Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Are you alright?"

"Twilight!?" Rainbow Dash shouted, dragging attention towards herself.

Granted, the others couldn't see or hear her, but Twilight could. Twilight motioned her head towards where Rainbow Dash was and quickly approached her, sniffing her heavily. This got Rainbow Dash to hover high up into the air and got Applejack to question her once more.

"Uhh, what are ya doin', Twi?" She asked.

"I smell something here with us." Twilight replied.

"Something like?" Pinkie Pie added.

"Something...dead." answered Twilight.

"D-D-D-Dead?" Fluttershy stammered.

"Where is it, Twilight?" Lunar asked.

Twilight sniffed out for Rainbow Dash a bit longer before taking off towards the skies to fully determine where she was. Rainbow Dash took it upon herself to not move a single muscle and not say a single peep. She thought that maybe she was only detectable when she moved or when she spoke. Twilight, on the other hand, was able to sniff out Rainbow Dash fairly easily and began growling at her.

Rainbow Dash opened the eyes that she had shut and was now staring Twilight dead in the eyes - no pun intended. Twilight stopped growling and gazed into Rainbow Dash's gray lifeless eyes. She gasped, which caused everyone down below the two floating creatures to question what exactly was happening since they themselves couldn't understand it.

"What's up, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"Twilight?" The others added simultaneously.

Twilight stood silent as she gazed into Rainbow Dash's eyes. Both Rainbow Dash and Twilight slowly descended to the ground and finally touched base with it.

"R-Rainbow Dash?" Twilight barely peeped.

"Hi, Twilight." Rainbow Dash replied.

"Is that really you?" Twilight wondered.

"Is what really who?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Twilight shot some discerned looks towards everyone else and explained to them that-

"Rainbow Dash is here!"

"Twilight," Applejack started, stepping up towards her and placing a hoof on her shoulder, "we all want Rainbow Dash to be here with us but the fact of the matter is is that she's long gone..."

"But she's standing here in front of me and right next to you!" Twilight shouted.

"It is true, Applejack," Rainbow Dash added, knowing very well that she would be unable to hear her, "I am still here with you."

"No she's not, Twilight," Pinkie Pie explained at the same time.

"She's right, Twilight," agreed Lunar.

"But she's not!" Twilight claimed. She turned towards Rainbow Dash. "Please," she told her, making it seem like she was talking to the air, "make your presence known to them."

"How?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Who are ya talkin' to, Twi?" Applejack said at the same time.

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight started, answering Applejack's question, "just do something to make your presence known..."

"Fer the last time, Twilight," Applejack huffed, "Rainbow Dash isn't here...she won't be."

"Sorry for this, Twilight..." Rainbow Dash commented.

Twilight was confused. "For what, Rainb-"

Before Twilight could finish her statement, Rainbow Dash immediately jumped into her body and took sole possession over it. Twilight struggled a bit, but was ultimately overpowered by Rainbow Dash and fell under her "power," so to speak.

"Umm," Fluttershy quivered, "is she alright?"

"Twilight?" Spike fearfully asked.

"It's me," Rainbow Dash said, through Twilight's mouth, "Rainbow Dash!"

"R-R-Rainbow?" The five friends trembled.

"But how!?" Lunar immediately questioned.

"You died!" Pinkie Pie added.

"Thanks, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash sarcastically spoke, still trying to get a feel for Twilight's body. She placed one of Twilight's paws on Twilight's horn. "What is this?"

"That's your horn," Applejack answered, "Ah mean...uhh, Twilight's horn..."

"Where is Twilight anyways?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"I'm still here!" Twilight shouted, trying desperately to regain control of her body.

"But..." Spike continued. "Rainbow Dash is..."

"Right here!" shouted Rainbow Dash through Twilight's mouth.

"I'm confused..." Fluttershy commented.

"Are Twilight and Rainbow Dash the same...thing now?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"No, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash answered.

"Rainbow Dash took over my body!" Twilight screamed, trying once again to gain control over her body once more.

"I'll leave your body as soon as I finish here, Twilight," promised Rainbow Dash.

"You'd better!" Twilight snapped. "I don't like this one bit!"

"Nor do I," Rainbow Dash added, "I'll make this as quick and easy as possible for the both of us."

With that said, Rainbow Dash began explaining to everyone else the story of what happened to her after her death, making sure to not miss a single detail.

* * *

"...and that's pretty much all there is to tell you."

Rainbow Dash, who was still in control of Twilight's body, finished up telling her story to the others. It had made little to no sense, but it was true to the fullest - she was standing there, courtesy of Twilight - sort of - in front of everyone. Twilight, on the other hand, was getting a little impatient with the amount of time Rainbow Dash was taking explaining her bizarre story. She tried pushing Rainbow Dash out of control of her body, though obviously had a hard time doing so.

"How much longer, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.

"Until I figure out what exactly you are," Rainbow Dash joked, "I may still be with you."

The other ponies laughed at Rainbow Dash's remark. They were reminded of her somewhat crude sense of humor - a humor they have truly missed since her "sudden" departure - though Twilight was beginning to feel a tad claustrophobic.

"Twilight," Rainbow Dash began, taking control of Twilight's body and looking at it herself, "what exactly are we?"

"'We'?" Twilight chuckled. "You mean 'what have I become'?"

"Sure," Rainbow Dash answered, "whatever you say."

This little back-and-forth conversation between two creatures was beginning to get amusing to the other ponies. Pinkie Pie started giggling and bursted out laughing at the one-pony show that was going on before her.

"This is getting very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very funny and very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very interesting!" Pinkie Pie said.

"We get it, Pinkie," Twilight and Rainbow Dash simultaneously answered.

"Just saying it~!" Pinkie Pie sang.

"Well," Twilight rang, shifting her focus from Pinkie Pie to Rainbow Dash, "how much longer are you planning to be with me?"

"Until I figure out what exactly you are." answered Rainbow Dash.

"If I tell you," continued Twilight, "will you please leave my body?"

"I'd take a consideration on it." Rainbow Dash said.

"Well," Twilight replied, "I am a lycan, which explains why I no longer have hooves and why my fur is a bit longer than the average pony's."

"A lycan?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"Yes, Rainbow," Twilight huffed, "a lycan."

"What in the name of Celestia is a lycan?" Rainbow Dash laughed.

"A lycan is a terrible werewolf." Twilight spoke.

"The difference between them and an actual werewolf is that somepony infected with a lycan disease can control themselves, unlike werewolves." Lunar added.

"So, what exactly is different about you, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash curiously asked.

"Well, Rainbow," smiled Twilight, "as you can see, I have paws now instead of hooves."

"What are paws?" Rainbow Dash boldly asked, looking down at a set of them.

"Paws are kind of like soft coated hooves." Twilight answered.

"That's cool," Rainbow Dash replied, "I guess...what else is different?"

"She's a bit taller, as you can...feel?" Spike sort of confidently responded.

"I can see that clearly." Rainbow Dash said. "What else?"

"Must you know every single detail about me, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight questioned.

"Must you like when I am a part of you, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"That didn't even make any sense, Rainbow." Twilight said.

"You don't make sense!" Rainbow Dash shot back.

"But...ugh!" Twilight screamed.

"Ooh," Rainbow Dash teased, "is somepony getting angry?"

"Technically, it's no longer somepony since I'm no longer a pony," Twilight corrected.

"Then what would it be, hmm?" Spike asked.

"I guess it would be somelycan," Twilight stated, "though I'm not too sure about that."

"Somelycan?" Spike repeated. "It seems legitimate...kind of."

"It does," agreed Twilight.

"Hello?" Rainbow Dash butted in. "Still want to know what is different here!"

"Oh, right," Twilight studdered, "umm...other...than that, umm...nothing else, really..."

"...really?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Really, Rainbow," Twilight answered, "now could you please kindly get out of my body!?"

"*sigh* Fine!" Rainbow Dash huffed.

Rainbow Dash struggled mightily to phase out of Twilight's body. Something on the inside of Twilight's body forbade that from happening, however. Rainbow Dash tried her ultimate best to get out of Twilight, but nothing seemed to work. Finally, she just sighed and began sulking about it.

"What's the problem, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You want me out of you, but you're not letting me go!"

"I'm not doing anything, Rainbow," Twilight admitted, "maybe you're not trying hard enough."

"How hard do you want me to try!?" snapped Rainbow Dash. "I'm trying my best to get out, but I'm still here!"

Pinkie Pie watched on, as did the other ponies, plus Spike. Pinkie Pie began to chuckle as she watched over this one-being show.

"What's so funny, Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash rudely asked.

"It's funny because I'm getting the feeling that you two are stuck together like gum in a mane is!" Pinkie Pie smiled.

This statement got Rainbow Dash and Twilight to both gasp at the same time, which resulted in an unusual sound being released from Twilight's body.

"We're STUCK!?" Twilight shouted.

"Together!?" added Rainbow Dash.

Twilight gulped at the idea of being stuck together with Rainbow Dash. She trembled slightly, as did Rainbow Dash, who was thinking the same exact thing as Twilight was thinking.

"Don't tell me that Rainbow Dash is going to be a part of me forever!" Twilight denied to herself. "As much as I love her _as a friend_ , I don't think I can take her being with me 24/7...no offense, Dash."

"Gee, thanks," Rainbow Dash replied lowly.

Twilight rolled her eyes, which Rainbow Dash sensed and began to scold her about it. An inner fight was on the brink of breaking out before the other ponies managed to slightly calm down the two supernatural beings. Tensions were still boiling hot while Twilight and Rainbow Dash were one with each other, but the mood and the setting managed to keep the two friends at base, as did their friends. Once tensions had cooled down a bit, Twilight requested that somebody look for a book about supernatural events happening. Hopefully, there would be something on how to cope with a ghost inside the body of a lycan, but it wasn't a very likely topic. Pinkie Pie, randomly running out of the barn and back in within seconds, tossed over a book to Twilight and smiled brightly.

"Found it!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "Page 142!"

She threw the book that the description was in over towards Twilight and bounced up and down in place out of joy. Applejack looked over towards Pinkie Pie and immediately was surprised yet again by Pinkie Pie's physics.

"How'd ya do that?"

Pinkie Pie kept her smile while Twilight used her magic to open up the book to page 142. Once the page was fully in front of Twilight, she skimmed through the page to look for the part about a ghost taking host in a lycan's body.

"Here it is," Twilight started.

"Read it to them." Rainbow Dash boldly responded.

"What's it say, Twilight?" The others asked.

"According to this book," continued Twilight, "if the ghost of a dead pony takes host inside the body of either a living or a dead lycan, then they are trapped inside said body until the host dies."

"Oh no..." Rainbow Dash meekly said, cutting Twilight off.

"Wait," Twilight said, "there's more!"

"What else does it say, Twilight?" Lunar asked.

"Once the host has died," Twilight read, "then the roles will reverse and the ghost gains control over the body and the lycan becomes the ghost. This process has been known to continue for either an entire eternity or..."

"Or what?" Everyone eagerly asked.

"I can't make out the rest of the sentence." Twilight claimed. "It's too faded for me to see it."

"It's too faded for me as well." added Rainbow Dash.

"So lemme get this straight." Applejack spoke. "The two o' ya are stuck together ferevah?"

"Looks like it, Applejack..." Twilight glumly answered.

"Then that means that I am an immortal!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Technically speaking, Dash," Twilight said, "you're not an immortal. Immortals are living things and beings that live forever. You, on the other...paw, hoof, claw, whatever, are a dead ghost. There is no way you could ever be classified as an immortal."

"Must you ruin my happiness?" Rainbow Dash boldly asked.

Twilight smiled, "How's a 'Daring Do' book sound to you?"

"Sounds great right about now!" Dash admitted. "It's been a long time since I last read one."

"So that's just it then, huh?" Lunar wondered.

"Whatever do you mean, Lunar?" Rarity asked.

"I mean, that's it with Twilight and Rainbow Dash then," Lunar commented, "isn't it?"

"I guess so, Luny." Twilight answered.

"Is that a problem, Lunar?" Rainbow Dash affectionately asked.

"Not really," Lunar replied, telling them a small lie, "it's just that, you know, since there's two of you inside the same body, I was wondering...nah, know what? It's a stupid idea...You'd probably laugh at it."

"No," Fluttershy comforted, "go on. We won't laugh."

"Yeah," Twilight added.

"C'mon," Rainbow Dash spoke, "tell us."

"Oh, all right..." Lunar stated, caving in to peer pressure. "I was wondering if we should call you Twidash now."

"Twidash?" Twilight and Rainbow Dash both asked at the same time, resulting in a sort of demonic voice being released from their innards, causing Fluttershy to cower up next to a segregated corner.

"Yeah," Spike laughed, pointing at Twilight and Rainbow Dash. "Twidash. Y'know, a mix of Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Twilight, Dash, Twidash!"

"Whaddya think?" Lunar smirked.

"It sounds odd, darling." commented Rarity.

"It's sounds weird." Twilight added.

"It sounds awesome!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"You can't be serious, Dash," Twilight barked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Rainbow Dash said.

"Well, for one thing," Twilight continued, "they could tell our voices apart from each other. I don't think they need to merge our names into one. What do you all think?"

"It sounds fun!" Pinkie Pie said.

"It's fine...I guess..." Fluttershy quietly commented.

"Ah say we don't merge your names fer the sake of knowin' the difference between them two." Applejack suggested.

"I'll have to agree with Applejack on this one, darling." Rarity added.

"I'd have to as well," Twilight stated, "it seems like a nice gesture and all - merging our names - but the fact of the matter is is that we are two different and unique things whose names deserved to stay separated."

"Aw, lighten up, wolfy!" Rainbow Dash said. "I say we change and merge our names together."

"And I say that we keep the names separated for friendship purposes." Twilight politely replied.

"How about we let our friends decide for us?" Rainbow Dash challenged.

Twilight huffed and sighed. "All right...if you insist on doing so..."

"Sweet!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "Alright, everypony! Line up!"

"Why?" Twilight asked, shaking her head slowly. "They can simply answer us from the locations they are currently in now. Why do they need to line up for you?"

"It makes it easier to count, Twi," answered Rainbow Dash.

"But there are legitimately only six of them here." Twilight commented.

Rainbow Dash grunted a bit, dropping the subject and deciding that it best be to not start an argument with Twilight Sparkle, whether she is a lycan or a regular pony. With magic such as Twilight's, this seemed like the best decision to make.

"Anyways," continued Rainbow Dash, "how many of you think we should be called Twidash?"

Spike and Pinkie Pie raised their claw and hoof in the air respectively. As for Lunar, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy, they all had kept quiet and looked on.

"So with two of them thinking we should change our name," Rainbow Dash said, "it's official!"

"Hold on a minute, Dash," Twilight spoke, "there's six of them and two of them don't make the majority. If two of them say that we should change our name while the others say that we shouldn't, then that means it's a majority rule going against the decision. Two out of six does not make a majority ruling."

"Ugh!" Rainbow Dash grunted. "Why do ya always have to ruin my fun, Twilight?"

"I don't always ruin your fun, Rainbow," Twilight stated, "I'm just being a smart cookie right now."

"You mean 'egg head...'" Rainbow Dash quietly responded.

"I heard that, you know," Twilight said.

"Whatever," Rainbow dash commented, "you are being one and you know it!"

"Then that would mean that you're being one as well," Twilight smiled, "since we are in the same body and stuff."

"Now, now, you two," Applejack started, "y'all need to calm down."

"Applejack's right," Rarity added, "this type of bickering and arguing won't get us anywhere."

"It's only going to set us further back than where we were at the start." Lunar stated.

"Right," Pinkie Pie said, "plus you two are like bestest friends. You shouldn't be arguing with each other, right Fluttershy?"

"No..." Fluttershy meekly peeped. "I mean, uhh...yes...I mean...*squeak*"

"They're right, Rainbow Dash," Twilight agreed.

"They are?" questioned Rainbow Dash.

"Yes," continued Twilight, "we are very good friends and we shouldn't argue, especially if it's over our name."

"I suppose you're right, Twilight," Rainbow Dash agreed, "this is something that shouldn't cause a ruckus or anything."

"I'm sorry for arguing, Rainbow Dash," Twilight apologized.

"I am, too..." Rainbow Dash added.

"Friends?" Twilight asked.

"Friends." Rainbow Dash declared.

"Whew wee," Applejack happily shouted, "glad we got that taken care o'!"

"Same here," Twilight stated, "now we just have to get used to being one in each other now. Sound good, Rainbow Dash?"

"Sounds pretty awesome to me, Twi," Rainbow Dash answered.

"Good," continued Twilight, "then let's get started then, shall we?"

"Let's." agreed Rainbow Dash.

"How shall you go about it, you two?" Lunar asked.

"I guess we should see who has control of what, wouldn't you say Dash?" Twilight suggested.

"Sounds good." Rainbow Dash commented.

"All right then," Twilight continued, "go on and try to move my...our paws, Rainbow."

"Okay..." Rainbow Dash spoke.

"Can ya move 'em, Rainbow?" Applejack wondered.

"I'm trying," Rainbow dash answered, "give me a second...I haven't done this in a while, remember?"

"Take as much time as you need, Rainbow." Twilight told her.

"Thank you, Twilight." Rainbow Dash obliged.

"No problem, Rainbow." Twilight smiled.

Some time passed quickly and Rainbow Dash seemed to be having a hard time trying to gain control of something within the body. She had no control over their paws and she had no control over the moving of the body either.

"Nothing, Rainbow Dash," Pinkie Pie asked, "really!?"

"Well," Rainbow Dash started, "nothing yet...but there is one more thing I haven't tried just yet..."

"And what in tarnation would that be?" Applejack questioned.

"The wings!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Can ya do anythin' wit 'em, Rainbow?" Applejack continued.

"There's only one way to find out!" Twilight said. "Flap, Rainbow. Flap like you've never flapped before."

Rainbow Dash smiled and tried her best to move the wings. She began to sweat a bit while trying to do so, but eventually, Rainbow Dash was able to move the wings on the body and, soon enough, the two supernatural creatures began flying through the air!

"I guess that answers that then." Twilight smiled.

"Aww yeah!" Rainbow Dash happily shouted. "Feels just like old times!"

"I'm sure it does, Dash." Twilight replied, enjoying the ride through the magnificent air.

* * *

 _ **~Elsewhere in Equestria~**_

"Nearing completion...ooh, boy, this is going to be such a delight to see in action!"

 **Equestria isn't always a place for fun and games, you know. Allow me to provide an example of how this is true just by using one word - or in this case, one name: Discord.**

 **But even the master of chaos isn't the one responsible for what this thing is doing on the furthest most eastern portion of Equestria, right near the border.**

 **This thing - a disfigured unicorn - is currently constructing a type of war machine that he will use for his advantage as he attempts to take over Equestria fully. Now, note how I said "disfigured." You're probably asking yourself right now, "What makes him disfigured," am I not right?**

 **Skipping the usual, two-bit, one party conversation, allow me to explain. This unicorn has a sharp horn compared to anyone else. In addition to his unusually sharp horn, this unicorn was born with - hold your breath and bare with me for a second - one wing. You read right. This unicorn has one wing attached to his body. He also has two hooves that are longer than the others. Putting it in perspective, he takes longer strides when walking on his back right hoof and his front left hoof. He has a lazy eye, courtesy of an accident he endured at such a young age, and has no friends, family, or loved ones around him to help support him during these difficult times.**

 **This war machine this unicorn is building - a robotic pony, more specifically - is nearing completion and simply needs one extra item. And that item is magic; magic from a live pony to carry out the gift of life in this robotic android.**

"Once I supply the magic to this robot," the unicorn stated, "I, Vladimir Von Puft, will be the most powerful and most unstoppable pony that ever existed!"

 **Let's be realists here for a moment. How hard could this possibly be to stop? Better yet, how hard could it be to defend against one pony and a machine? When you go around with magic or wings attached to your body here in Equestria (I guess it sucks to be an Earth pony in this scenario), these two items are like an infinite ammunition wave against one feeble old, disfigured pony, right?**

Quickly moving on with his plan, Vladimir positioned himself in front of the robot he built and touched its head with his horn, releasing some of his magic onto the robot. The magic, dark and sinister, much like King Sombra's magic, traveled around the robot's body and brought it to life. This robot had no eyes, just scanners and radars so it could triangulate the positions of everyone and everything that was within a fifteen yard radius. The robot scanned the area, locating Vladimir in a semi-beat.

Vladimir jumped up with joy as the robot followed his movement. He introduced himself to the robot and told him what he wanted to do.

"I am Vladimir Von Puft!" He said. "It has been my dream ever since I was a younger colt to extract my revenge on the society that has shunned me for so long! With you...I can make it all a reality."

"BZzT..." The robot squirmed. "REVENGE EXTRACTION ARROGANT!"

"You're a quick learner," Vladimir praised, "aren't you...umm...I think I'll call you...M19..."

"BZzT..." M19 sparked. "I AM M19...TOTAL ANNIHILATION OF POPULATION A MUST!"

Vladimir let out an uncomfortable chuckle. "Heh heh, yeah, let's take it easy for a quick sec...I told you revenge but death is just taking it a bit too far..."

M19 simply gazed at Vladimir, who placed a hoof around the neck of M19. M19 took this as a threat and immediately placed Vladimir in a strong headlock position, but not enough to do any catastrophic damage to his cranium. Vladimir eventually managed to calm down the powerful robot and even convinced it to release him.

"You're a strong one, aren't you?" Vladimir asked, though he knew that answer in more than one way.

"I ARE WHAT I AM!" M19 replied.

"You mean, 'I am what I am,'" Vladimir corrected.

"BZzT!"

"Anyway," Vladimir continued, "come. We have work that needs to be done and first up on that list: Canterlot. Now that the Elements of Harmony have two missing links, this should be relatively easy...Come along M19."

"COMING!" M19 replied.

And with that being said, Vladimir, alongside his creation, M19, started making their way to their destination located at the heart of Canterlot.

* * *

 _ **~Back in Ponyville~**_

"It's getting rather late everypony." Rarity claimed, looking out the window feebly. "I think I'll call it a night and get some shut eye. I have a lot of things that simply must be attended to in the morning."

"Right there wit ya, Rare," Applejack added, "those apples sure aren' gonna buck themselves tomorrah."

"Yeah," Pinkie Pie chimed, "and the Cakes told me that they need extra extra help tomorrow!"

"You're all right," Twilight said, "it is getting a bit late. I think I'm going to hit the hay. I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Good night, everypony!" Rainbow Dash shouted as Twilight started to leave Applejack's barn.

"Good night, Twilight," they all replied back, "good night, Rainbow Dash."

"I must be going as well," Rarity claimed once more, "have a good night everypony."

"Good night, Rarity!" The others smiled as Rarity left the barn as well, heading on in the opposite direction as Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Lunar, and Spike were.

The night was "young," so to speak. Granted, the time was nearly midnight, most likely passed that actually, but to Rarity, it seemed like the night was merely day a few moments ago. It was this kind of night where Rarity missed being a vampony and missed the usual blood sucking with her ex-husband, Robert, the dreaded and psychotic emerald colored unicorn.

Being a vampony did have its advantages under certain circumstances. For example, vamponies were immune to pain and were immortalized for an eternity - unless they stood out in the sun for too long. If that were to happen to a vampony, the possibility of them dying grew until they collapsed from sun intake.

Rarity missed the life of a vampony desperately and loathed at the new head vampony. True, she tried to play it off and act as if she had no idea who the new head vampony was, but deep down, Rarity knew; she knew it very, very well, truthfully. In fact, she knew so well that the pony who was the new head was a relatively close pony to Rarity. They actually held a spot deep inside Rarity's somewhat torn heart.

The Carousel Boutique was rapidly approaching Rarity as she walked mindlessly through the night. She stepped onto her property and quickly used her magic to open up the door to her home and business shop, a task that Robert always performed for Rarity when they were a happily married couple and he wasn't a corrupted senile villain.

Inside the Boutique, the lights were still on, courtesy of Sweetie Belle. Rarity wasn't surprised that Sweetie Belle was still wide awake at this time and actually accepted her younger sister's new change to her life.

* * *

 **Oh, have you not heard?**

 **A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word, A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, well, the bird is the word, A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word.**

 **Sorry, but I had to put that in there. But, in all seriousness, have you really not found out about it? I must say that it is truly shocking, to say the least. I mean, if you are too nervous to hear about it, that's fine. I'll stop the story right here and work on another one.**

 **What's that? You want me to tell you? Are you sure?**

 **You are? Well, don't say I didn't warn ya!**

 **The reason Rarity accepted her younger sister's new lifestyle and the reason why she loathed about it was because Sweetie Belle had become the new head vampony. I know, weird right?**

 **I'll just let that sink in for a while...**

 **All good? Good, then on with the story!**

* * *

"Hi, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle smiled, looking back at the clock that was overhead. "You're home early."

"Actually, Sweetie Belle," Rarity started, "it's early for you, but it's late for me."

"Twelve-thirty in the morning isn't late at all..." Sweetie Belle teased, knowing how tired her older sister - the Element of Generosity - was now.

"Ha, ha, Sweetie Belle," Rarity sarcastically replied, "have you had your daily cup of blood yet?"

"Just finished it, Rarity." Sweetie Belle said.

"I can see that." Rarity answered, pointing a hoof towards her younger sister's lower lip.

Sweetie Belle gasped, then, when Rarity spawned a mirror in front of her, used one of her hooves to wipe off the red blood stain that was in the position Rarity had pointed to earlier. She blushed a bit, as Rarity smiled and magically made the mirror disappear.

"You're a special filly, Sweetie Belle," Rarity said, walking over to her younger sister, "you know that?"

"Why's that?" Sweetie Belle questioned.

"Well, for one thing," continued Rarity, "now you're in charge of how you act and what you do with your infection. I'm both scared for you and happy for you at the same time."

"Why?"

"I'm scared because I don't know what you'll do with the vampony infection or how you'll act," Rarity sighed, "but I'm happy for you because you got what you've always wanted - to be a vampony."

Sweetie Belle's smile quickly faded away into a frown. Rarity noticed this fairly quickly and decided to confront what was troubling her younger, now-immortal sister, Sweetie Belle.

"What's the matter, Sweetie Belle?" A concerned Rarity asked her frowning younger sister.

"It's just that..." Sweetie Belle started, unable to paste together the words she wanted to use in a sentence she wanted to say them in.

"Yes," continued Rarity, "go on..."

Sweetie Belle sighed a bit, not loud enough for Rarity to hear it, though it was a noticeable motion. "I've always wanted to be a vampony with you, Rarity. Now that you're no longer a vampony anymore, it doesn't feel the same."

"Are you...?" Rarity started, trying to paste together certain types of words to proceed with asking a question, much like her younger sister moments ago.

"If it isn't too much trouble, Rarity." Sweetie Belle replied.

Rarity thought about Sweetie Belle's request and even concerned for it. She knew what Sweetie Belle was asking – frankly, it was pretty obvious – but she wasn't too sure if it was the right thing to do – to proceed with it, that is.

"It's okay if you don't want to," Sweetie Belle added, "I will respect your decision no matter what."

"It isn't just that, Sweetie Belle," Rarity responded.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if I said okay to it," continued Rarity, "I'm not sure if I'll act the same like last time."

Sweetie Belle looked down out of discouragement. "Oh, okay," she sighed, "if that's what you want, I'm...happy for you."

Rarity frowned slowly. She hated seeing her sister get down like this and decided to do something about it. After all, this is the Element of Generosity we're talking about here. Surely she has to be somewhat generous to her younger sister, right? Looking at Sweetie Belle, Rarity placed one of her hooves under her chin and rose it so that Sweetie Belle and Rarity were looking at each other in the eye.

"...although, I suppose it couldn't hurt to have some fun again." Rarity falsely smiled, something Sweetie Belle could never really tell.

"Really?" Sweetie Belle squeaked.

Rarity nodded in response. "As long as you promise to keep this little secret between you and I, Sweetie Belle."

"I promise, Rarity." Sweetie Belle replied.

"I'm going to need a Pinkie Pie promise, little sis." Rarity stated.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." recited Sweetie Belle.

"That's more like it." Rarity smiled, showing a real, bright smile this time around to her younger sister.

"Thank you, Rarity," Sweetie Belle replied, "you have no idea how much this means to me."

"I believe I do," Rarity answered, stroking her younger sister's multi-colored mane slowly. Inside her thoughts, however, was a different story. _But you have no idea what this will mean to me..._

"This means a lot to me." Sweetie Belle admitted, though Rarity was quite alert of that.

Rarity responded with a smile. "Now, do you remember how I showed you?"

"I think so." Sweetie Belle softly answered.

"Don't worry about it," Rarity laughed, "I'll show you again." She positioned herself around Sweetie Belle's neck and gently put her teeth on the area that was similar to the area Sweetie Belle would've had to bite on to infect Rarity. "Right around there," Rarity continued, "then gently suck up some blood, about three seconds of sucking up blood should do it." Rarity then pulled herself away from Sweetie Belle's neck.

Sweetie Belle began to position herself around the area Rarity had just showed her. She hesitated a bit, wondering if she should proceed with what she was about to do permanently.

"What's the matter, Sweetie Belle?" Rarity asked.

"Are you sure you want me to do this, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle wondered.

"I'm positively sure." Rarity lied. She only wanted to do this so that her younger sister would be happy with her. That, plus the immortality.

"Alright then." Sweetie Belle replied, beginning to drive her teeth into the flesh of her older sister.

Sweetie Belle drove and dug her teeth down deep into Rarity's skin and began to suck out some blood. Throughout this time, Rarity was cringing. It wasn't the most pleasant of experiences, but that was mainly because Sweetie Belle was still a novice at infecting other ponies, likely because she was being forced to keep her infection to herself by Rarity.

Moments have passed and by the time Sweetie Belle had removed her sharp fangs from Rarity's neck, Rarity had started feeling some of the notable changes begin to happen to her body. She felt her canine teeth extend themselves to sharp fangs once more and felt her height increase slightly. The process was slow, but eventually they stopped - the transformation, that is.

"How do you feel, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle feebly asked.

"Powerful." Rarity replied. "Powerful and happy."

Once the transformation completed itself, Rarity magically spawned a mirror in front of her, using her magic, so that she could take a look at the details of her body. She did indeed grow a few inches, probably matching Twilight's height as an alicorn now, which may raise some questions in the long run, and saw that her eye color was once again red, matching her younger sister's eye colors.

"Thank you, Rarity," Sweetie Belle replied as Rarity made the mirror disappear, "this really means a lot to me."

"You're quite welcome, Sweetie Belle." Rarity smiled.

The two sisters smiled more at each other for some time before they opted to get some sleep, or at least attempt to get some sleep. Rarity began thinking in the back of her mind if this was the right choice, but she dismissed those thoughts as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning rapidly approached the ponies within Ponyville within a few hours. By the time dawn had arrived, some of the ponies had already gotten up and worked their ways out of bed and into this morning. Twilight - in accompany with Rainbow Dash – Lunar, and Rarity, along with a very, very tired Sweetie Belle, were among some of the ponies that had awoken and were ready for any kinds of adventures that lay ahead of them for today. Both creatures, with nothing else to really do for the next few hours or so, decided to bask in the glory of this warm Tuesday morning by taking a walk through the town to start their days respectively. Neither one knew exactly what the other was doing, which, in a sense, would be weird if they did know.

Twilight was the first to notice Rarity out and about, mainly since Rainbow Dash was still asleep. Alongside Lunar, the royal couple began to approach Rarity. Twilight, with wolf instincts kicking in, tried running over to her friend, but slowed herself down, trotting alongside Rarity and joining her in this beautiful, picture perfect morning.

"Good morning, Rarity!" Twilight happily obliged from behind.

"Hello there, Rarity." Lunar smiled.

Startled, Rarity turned around and "happily" greeted Twilight and Lunar back. "Good morning, Twilight, Lunar." She paused slightly, then remembered last night. "Oh, and good morning to you, Rainbow Dash."

"Oh, she's still asleep." Twilight told Rarity.

"How does that one work?" Rarity questioned.

"What do you mean?" replied Twilight.

"How does it work if you're awake and she's asleep?" Rarity made clear.

"Oh," laughed Twilight, "she doesn't control anything but my wings. My guess is that if something hits my wings, only then will she wake up. I don't even think she can hear us talking right now."

"Well, that's peculiar." Rarity admitted, pulling her head away as she felt her canine teeth begin to extend themselves.

"Is something the matter, Rarity?" Lunar immediately asked, driven by the concern of not only his subject, but a close friend.

"No, nothing is the matter, Lunar," Rarity lied.

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked, running over to the other side of Rarity.

"Perfectly sure, darling." Rarity answered, turning her head the other way to face Lunar now.

"Alright," Twilight slowly said, "if you say so."

"You know you can tell us anything, right Rarity?" Lunar advised.

"I know, darling." Rarity replied.

The group continued walking in the morning air for a few moments longer before Rainbow Dash had started to wake up.

"Ahh...what an amazing dream I had!" Rainbow Dash stated as she began to wake up. "Mornin' Twilight, Lunar." She noticed Rarity next. "Hey, Rarity."

"Good morning, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said, still having her head faced the other way.

"Good morning, Dash," Twilight added.

"Sleep good?" Lunar smirked.

"Oh, it was awesome!" Rainbow Dash happily replied.

"Wow," Rarity uncomfortably chuckled, "would you simply look at the time...I'm desperately so sorry, but I must go and...finish up some of my clients' orders. I'll catch up with you both later. Bye!"

Before the others could reply back with a goodbye themselves, Rarity had already run off and towards her home. This left Twilight, Lunar, and Rainbow Dash in a daze, wondering what was going on with Rarity.

"She wasn't like that a few moments ago," claimed Lunar, "do you think something could be wrong?"

"I dunno," Rainbow Dash admitted, "but shouldn't we go check ourselves?"

"I'm waiting for you to fly us over there." Twilight said.

"I just woke up there, Twi," Rainbow Dash replied, "ya gotta give me at least some time before I can fly with ease!"

"Sorry," Twilight responded, "I kinda forgot about that..."

"It's okay," Rainbow Dash told Twilight, "now let's go!"

"Wait for me, ladies!" Lunar added, stretching out his wings.

With that said, Twilight began to run after Rarity while Lunar flew after her. They were hoping to find out and uncover what exactly was the matter with Rarity, making her act irrationally this morning. The two mythological beings shortly arrived at the Carousel Boutique thereafter, as did Lunar. They made it perfectly clear to each other as to be as undetectable and as quiet as possible. The last thing they wanted was to let Rarity know they were here spying on her. Twilight located a window and positioned herself next to it, obtaining the perfect view of Rarity, while Lunar was on lookout, just in case Sweetie Belle or someone else were to show up.

* * *

"This is simply awful..." Rarity claimed.

Rarity was looking at herself through a mirror and was referring to her body and how she now appeared. Her fangs have grown themselves outward and appeared as if they refused to retract themselves back to a normal position. What was really astonishing was that her eyes were that of two different colors as well! There was the casual, normal, moderate azure color in the left eye and, in the right eye, the dreadful, bloody, demonic red eye. This little tidbit brought tears to Rarity's eyes as she began sobbing to herself.

"This is simply awful..." Rarity repeated. "I cannot control myself..."

Suddenly, Rarity began to feel a little growth spurt in addition to her few, yet notable, changes. She looked into the mirror once more and now appeared to be even taller than Twilight was, though not as tall as Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, or Lunar. If there was a happy middle between Twilight's height and Luna's, Cadance's, or Lunar's height - which there was - Rarity was now that happy middle - though it was as far from happy as anything.

"What's wrong, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked, trotting down the stairs relatively quickly.

Rarity took this time to wipe the tears clean from her eyes and spun around relatively quickly. She noticed Sweetie Belle standing before her, whom noticed the changes that were happening to Rarity as well.

"Help me." Rarity requested before collapsing on the ground.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle shrieked.

The onlooking Twilight, Lunar, and Rainbow Dash were also concerned. Without any sort of hesitation, the three rushed into Rarity's home - startling Sweetie Belle in the process - desperately wanting to help out their fallen friend.

"She needs help now!" Twilight protested.

"But what do we do?" Sweetie Belle cried.

"Is she breathing?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"Who said that?" wondered Sweetie Belle.

"No time for explanations," Lunar spoke, "check to see if she's breathing."

Sweetie Belle rushed next to her fallen sister and placed a hoof on her chest. It was moving very slightly, signifying that Rarity was breathing, but by the looks of it, it appeared to be slowing down with each passing second.

"She's breathing!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "But it's slowing down."

"We need to get her help now!" Lunar shouted, using his magic to help carry Rarity.

"Where are we going?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"To the hospital," Twilight barked, "where else?"

"But look at us," Rainbow Dash protested, "what'll the other ponies think if they see us like this?"

"Leave it be," Twilight responded, "Rarity's health is more important than trying to appear as a normal pony."

"Though we both know that you are far from that, lycan or not." Rainbow Dash said under her breath.

Twilight helped Lunar carry Rarity over towards the Ponyville Hospital, rushing over there as fast as they could all go. In accompany with Sweetie Belle, who had begun learning to carry little things with her magic recently, trying to help carry Rarity with Twilight and Lunar, the four creatures arrived at the hospital in no time. They rushed inside and immediately requested to see a doctor.

"May I ask what for?" The receptionist pony asked.

"There's no time for explaining!" Twilight replied. "As Princess, I order immediate attention given to this pony!"

"'Princess'?" The receptionist laughed. "You look nothing like Princess Twilight. You don't even look like a pony!"

"Please," Sweetie Belle cried, "she needs help...she needs it now."

"I'll see what I can do for you, little filly." The receptionist told Sweetie Belle. "Paging Doctor Whooves. Paging Doctor Whooves. You're wanted in the lobby."

 _I thought that Rarity and Robert had killed Doctor Whooves,_ Twilight thought to herself.

 _As did I,_ Rainbow Dash added.

 _You can hear my thoughts?_ Twilight quietly questioned. _How long have you done this?_

 _This entire time._ Rainbow Dash replied.

Suddenly, Doctor Whooves had appeared in the lobby. He saw Lunar, Twilight (and unknowingly, Rainbow Dash), Sweetie Belle, and the collapsed Rarity, whom was surrounded in magenta, indigo, and sea green aura, but mainly magenta and indigo. He walked up to the receptionist and asked her what it was that was needed from him.

"Well, these three have requested that this pony receive immediate medical attention." The receptionist told Doctor Whooves.

"Well," Doctor Whooves spoke, turning to Lunar, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Sweetie Belle, "I'm sorry, but there are other ponies who need medical attention as well."

That statement got Sweetie Belle to shed some tears. She collapsed onto Twilight's body, feeling the odd fur on her body instead of a normal pony's coat. Twilight looked down and, driven by the passion that Sweetie Belle had, attempted to convince Doctor Whooves to change his mind.

"Please, Doctor," she began, "this sweet, little filly is the only family that pony has. I'm not one for ordering my subjects around, but this is an entirely different situation. This is one of the Element holders for the Elements of Harmony. As Princess, I need you to give her immediate medical attention."

"Please, Doctor," added Lunar, "I am issuing a royal order for treatment on this pony immediately."

Doctor Whooves laughed, still baffled by Twilight's comment. " _You!? Princess?_ You're down right sick if you think that you're a Princess! I'll give to you that you do look like Princess Twilight did, but you look nothing like a regular pony! I'm sorry, but-"

Rainbow Dash spread out Twilight's wings, thus ceasing Doctor Whooves' bashing on Twilight. His jaw was dropped in awe, for he was in the presence of Princess Twilight Sparkle (and, apparently, Princess Rainbow Dash), but a different looking Princess Twilight.

"Your Highness," Doctor Whooves cracked, bowing before Her Majesty, "I-I'm so sorry for not recognizing you earlier."

"Your apology will be accepted if you agree to take this pony in for immediate medical attention!" Twilight barked.

"But of course, Your Highness." Doctor Whooves replied, pulling out a medical stretcher. "Please, place her on top of here."

Sweetie Belle, Lunar, and Twilight then put Rarity on top of the stretcher and, once Rarity was held in place, Doctor Whooves rolled her away.

"I sure hope she's okay," Sweetie Belle cried.

"We all do, Sweetie Belle," Twilight comforted, "we all do."

* * *

Hours have passed since Rarity was taken in to the hospital abruptly. Twilight and Rainbow Dash have long since traveled home with Lunar, while Sweetie Belle opted staying overnight next to her older sister, whom was currently hanging on by a thread for dear life. This has happened once before – when Robert was originally infected – and we all know how that story went, no pun intended.

Sweetie Belle had a heavy set of eyes as she overlooked Rarity, whom was currently lying in a bed with a heavy amount of IVs attached to her body. The time was slightly passed the midnight hour and everyone in the hospital had either gone home from a hard day's work, or settled in and finally went to bed. Rarity and Sweetie Belle, on the other hand, were wide awake after the hour of one. At that time, Rarity had grown hungry; rather, she grew thirsty. She requested blood, but Sweetie Belle was too tired to supply it.

"Please, Sweetie Belle," Rarity coughed, "I desperately need some now..."

Sweetie Belle bemoaned, but dragged herself up towards Rarity's location, laying next to her on the hospital bed. Rarity motioned her hoof along Sweetie Belle's neck and attempted to locate the bite marks that were on her neck. Once she had located the marks, she leaned in towards her younger sister and penetrated her skin, sucking up some desperately needed blood. It wasn't a whole lot, but it was enough to move about and replenish some health.

"Thank you, Sweetie Belle," Rarity replied in a sotto voce voice, "you have no idea how much this means to me."

"I think I do, Rarity," Sweetie Belle rebutted, "now you should get some sleep. It'll help you get better."

Rarity had fallen asleep prior to Sweetie Belle even completing her sentence. Sweetie Belle noticed this and snuggled up against Rarity's warm body. Not too long after that, Sweetie Belle had also fallen asleep for the night.

* * *

Time has long passed since Rarity and Sweetie Belle had fallen asleep. It was still night out, but it was much later in the night. The time was about four o'clock in the morning and Rarity and Sweetie Belle appeared to have an unnoted visitor. Actually, they appreard to have had in their presence _two_ unascertained visitors – Princess Twilight Sparkle (in accompany with a sleeping Rainbow Dash) and Princess Luna.

"Look, Princess," Twilight whispered, trying her best not to wake up the two sleeping sisters.

"I see it," Princess Luna replied, "but I don't believe it."

"But it is true, unfortunately," Twilight continued, "it's as true as me being a lycan is true. Rarity _and_ Sweetie Belle are vamponies in our fair society."

"We simply must take action." Princess Luna suggested.

"We have to," Twilight ruefully agreed.

"Princess Celestia won't enjoy this bit of news," Princess Luna added before walking out of the room.

Twilight stood behind for a few more seconds and grimaced over Rarity and Sweetie Belle. She gave off an evil smirk before leaving the room behind Princess Luna.

"That'll show you vamponies." Twilight menacingly spoke. "Us lycans are the ones who will rule Equestria!"

The door shut heavily behind Twilight as she proceeded down the hallway, following Princess Luna, as the two regal ponies left the hospital. Rarity had heard the door shut and shuttered heavily, waking up Sweetie Belle in the process.

"Ugh..." Sweetie Belle groaned. "What's the matter, Rarity?"

"I heard the door shut harshly, Sweetie Belle," Rarity replied.

"So?"

"I think somepony was watching us." Rarity answered. "Be a dear, won't you, and see who is outside in the hallway."

"I highly doubt that anypony is in the hallway, Rarity," Sweetie Belle yawned, "I think you just dreamt it."

"No," Rarity protested, "I'm as sure of it as the day is followed by the night. Somepony was watching us and is out in the hallway. Please check for me, won't you?"

Sweetie Belle sighed, "Fine..."

Sweetie Belle struggled out of the bed and opened up the door. There were no ponies in the hallway that were visible, but Sweetie Belle could see the shadow of Princess Luna. She knew it was Princess Luna because the mane was elegant and flowing through the air around her, something that generally doesn't happen to regular ponies. She closed the door slowly behind her so that Princess Luna wouldn't hear them, then told Rarity that Princess Luna was deep down the hallway.

"Princess Luna?" Rarity questioned. "What in Equestria is Princess Luna doing here?"

"I don't know," Sweetie Belle replied, looking out the window, "but I have a feeling that Twilight has something to do with this."

She pointed a hoof out the window and pointed towards Twilight and Princess Luna. They appeared to be talking with each other, but that quickly ended as Princess Luna flew off into the night sky and Twilight teleported away using her magic.

"Something is going on and I don't like it one bit." Sweetie Belle commented.

* * *

 _ **~On the outskirts of Ponyville~**_

Near the edge of the tiny, oddly bustling town, Vladimir Von Puft and M19 had appeared and began nearing the Ponyville Hospital. He knew of Rarity and what she once was and managed to find out that she was being taken care of in the hospital by an anonymous tipster. He had no clue that Sweetie Belle was also a vampony nor did he know that she was with Rarity. What Vladimir Von Puft was planning to do was use Rarity's vampony magic for evil purposes - mainly for conquering Canterlot and, eventually, Equestria.

"Come along, M19," Vladimir called, "we've got work to do."

"BZzT, COMING!" M19 replied.

The two were currently nearing the entrance towards the Ponyville Hospital, but stopped suddenly when they saw two other figures come out of the doors.

"M19," Vladimir whispered, "enable cloaking ability."

"BZzT, CLOAKING ABILITY ACTIVATED!" M19 responded, blending in with the surrounding scenery.

Vladimir squinted at the two figures that had exited the hospital. He identified one of them as the Princess of the Night herself - Princess Luna - but failed to identify the other one. Vladimir managed to hear a conversation between the two and began to listen in fully to it.

"...Celestia won't be too happy with this latest development." Princess Luna said.

"I know she won't," the other individual said, "but we must alert her that she is one once more!"

"What are they talking about?" Vladimir spoke out loud. "Who are they talking about?"

"It has to be this way," the unknown individual stated, "you said so yourself, Princess Luna."

"I know I did, Twilight," Princess Luna heavily answered, "I just don't know how Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance will react to this. Even Prince Lunar will surely blow a gasket."

"Twilight?" Vladimir repeated. "Twilight Sparkle? _The_ Princess Twilight Sparkle herself!? Why...I thought she died..."

"I must be returning to Canterlot now, Twilight," Princess Luna advised, "please stay safe and enjoy the rest of your night."

"You too, Princess," Twilight replied.

The two alicorns then went their separate ways, Princess Luna by flying and Princess Twilight by teleportation. Once Vladimir made sure that the coast was clear, he and M19 started making their way towards the entrance of the hospital by using whatever stealth tactics they both knew. Upon reaching the entrance, they found that the door was still open, so Vladimir and M19 helped themselves inside the tall establishment. Approaching the entrance desk, Vladimir and M19 climbed over and stared at the list of hundred of ponies that were being kept inside. Impatient, Vladimir turned to M19 and smirked.

"M19, hack into the computers and find out where Rarity is being kept." Vladimir instructed.

"BZzT, HACKING..." M19 declared, "HACKING COMPLETE! PATIENT 1032, RARITY, BEING KEPT IN ROOM 2014-A!"

"Excellent job, M19," Vladimir praised, "now let's go. Room 2014-A...she should be on the second floor."

Rushing down one of the halls within the hospital, Vladimir quickly navigated the staircase and headed up to the second floor of the hospital. Once he had reached the second floor, along with M19, he began to locate Rarity's room, which was oddly located one door down on the right hand side, facing out towards the rest of Ponyville.

"Stay here, M19," Vladimir ordered, "it's best if I go in myself."

"BZzT, GRANTED!" M19 boomed, possibly waking up some of the nearby ponies.

Vladimir opened up the door slowly and was greeted to Sweetie Belle's presence before him. He looked down and glanced at Sweetie Belle, a bit confused as to where Rarity was.

"Who are you!?" Sweetie Belle shrieked.

"Quiet, little filly," Vladimir answered, "I am looking for Rarity. Do you know where she is?"

"What do you want with my big sister!?" Sweetie Belle shouted, ignoring Vladimir's request from earlier.

"'Big sister,' you say?" Vladimir chuckled. "This makes that a lot more interesting then..."

"Makes what more interesting?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Little filly," Vladimir continued, "are you, by any chance, a vampony?"

Sweetie Belle looked uncomfortable. "Why ask that?" She asked nervously.

"You are," Vladimir assumed, "aren't you!?"

"Why do you want to know?" Sweetie Belle asked, her voice not as loud as before.

"Answer me this first," Vladimir said, "is Rarity the pony on the bed right now?"

"Yes," Sweetie Belle answered, "why?"

"Little filly," Vladimir continued, "allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vladimir Von Puft and I am a misunderstood unicorn, and a deformed one for that as well. I am on a quest to make misunderstood ponies, such as yourself, understood and appreciated by society."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"How isn't important," Vladimir replied, "it's the act of being able to do it that is what will make it perfectly fine, little filly."

"I'm listening..." Sweetie Belle spoke.

"Good," Vladimir commented, "now I just need your older sister's attention and we'll be good to go."

Sweetie Belle looked back at Rarity and began pondering over whether or not she should wake her up. She bit her lip, then decided on what she should do.

* * *

 _ **~The next morning~**_

"Good to see you up and about, Miss Rarity," Vladimir smiled, "if my calculations are correct – and they almost always are – you should be well enough to check out."

"Please, Vlad," Rarity replied, "you may address me simply as Rarity. Sweetie Belle, be a dear won't you and call for a nurse. I want to see how much longer I must stay here."

"Be right back, sis," Sweetie Belle answered, rushing out of the room in a jiffy.

Rarity went over and shut the door, leaving her alone with Vladimir and a deactivated M19. She approached Vladimir slowly and spoke softly to him, this way nobody else would be able to hear them.

"Did they really do that last night?" Rarity asked, referring to Twilight and Princess Luna and their surprise visit.

"They most certainly did." Vladimir answered, instilling false information sprinkled over the truth to Rarity. "At this moment, they are probably plotting against you and, by now, Princess Celestia must certainly know."

"I thought we were friends..." Rarity cried. "How could she do this to us?"

"It must be hard for you to take in, Rarity," Vladimir replied, "believe me when I say that...I've been there my entire life."

Vladimir comforted Rarity as best as he could while she wept. When the two ponies heard the door begin opening up, Rarity pulled herself away from Vladimir rapidly and also wiped some tears from her eyes.

The door opened up and before Rarity and Vladimir stood Sweetie Belle and Doctor Whooves. Sweetie Belle happily trotted into the room and was closely followed by the doctor.

"You're looking awfully well," Doctor Whooves commented, "aren't you, Rarity?"

"Most certainly," Rarity replied, "I was actually wondering-"

"When you were going to be able to check out, I presume?" Doctor Whooves finished.

"Precisely." Rarity smiled.

"Well," Doctor Whooves continued, "based off of your appearance and your early morning tests, I'd say that you're able to check out as of this minute."

"Really?" Rarity and Sweetie Belle both gasped.

Doctor Whooves nodded. "I'll have a nurse come in and help you out."

"Oh thank you, Doctor Whooves!" Rarity responded.

"You're welcome, Rarity," Doctor Whooves replied, "now take it easy."

"Same to you, Doctor." answered Rarity as Doctor Whooves left the room.

Rarity turned towards Sweetie Belle and Vladimir and her smile quickly faded into an evil looking smirk, as did Sweetie Belle's and Vladimir's.

"And once we're out," Rarity quietly told them, "Twilight will pay for what she has done to us."

Both Rarity's eye and Sweetie Belle's eyes flashed the demonic red that came naturally to vamponies as the nurse began entering the room. Rarity calmed herself down and spun around, eyes the normal color they were supposed to be. The nurse approached Rarity, whom was shielding Sweetie Belle from the nurse's line of vision.

"I'll just need you to sign right here for your immediate release, Miss Rarity," the nurse told her, "then you'll be free to go."

Grabbing the quill with her magic, Rarity signed the release forms and was now able to leave the hospital on a full pardon. Once she had left, Sweetie Belle, Vladimir, M19, and herself had begun their pursuit towards Twilight's home. The timing for this couldn't have been any better, seeing how Spike and Lunar were both over in the Crystal Empire, helping out Shining Armor with some royal duties, and the other ponies had some important business matters to attend to first.

"Rarity," Sweetie Belle called, "what exactly are we going to do to Twilight?"

"Trap her, torture her, whatever we need to do to her, Sweetie Belle." Rarity replied.

Vladimir was behind the two vampony sisters, smiling in the process. The two sisters failed to notice it, continuing on in their pursuits towards the Golden Oaks Library. Up ahead in the distance, they saw a shimmering light. They found the passage back to the place they were plenty of times before.

"Twilight Sparkle!" Rarity called from the porch. While waiting for Twilight to answer the door, Rarity used her vampony magic to increase her height slightly, as well as Sweetie Belle's height. Now, Rarity was as tall as Princess Luna and Princess Cadance were and Sweetie Belle was as tall as Twilight was. Vladimir watched on as the two sisters prepared themselves to give Twilight the whatfor that she semi-deserved.

Moments later, Twilight answered the door and had a surprised look on her face. You could see Twilight's surprised reaction and heard Rainbow Dash's reaction as well.

"Oh, sweet Celestia..." Rainbow Dash remarked.

"Umm..." Twilight uncomfortably chuckled. "H-Hello there, R-Rarity."

Rarity stood silent, pushing herself inside Twilight's oak tree home. Sweetie Belle followed closely behind, as did Vladimir and M19. Rarity pushed Twilight all the way back to one of the book cases and began to question her heavily.

"Let me start with this, Twilight," Rarity spoke with her demonic voice, "we are friends, are we not?"

"O-Of course we are, Rarity," Twilight stammered, "why would you even ask that?"

"Friends don't keep secrets from each other," continued Rarity, "correct?"

"No," answered Twilight, "of course not."

"So," Rarity spoke, "you wouldn't have any idea of what I'm about to tell you then, would you?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" Twilight questioned.

"I don't like where this is going." Rainbow Dash chipped in.

"Oh, something about you lycans taking out us vamponies doesn't ring a bell, Twilight?" Rarity asked. "Does it?"

"I-I would never do something like that!" Twilight shouted.

"Then why did you tell Princess Luna last night that something must be done and that Princess Celestia must know immediately?" Vladimir questioned Twilight.

"First off," Twilight defended, "I don't know who you are. Second, I never told Princess Luna that."

"Then what did you tell her exactly?" Sweetie Belle demanded. "Word. For word!"

Twilight had a hard time answering that question. She was cornering herself in a hypothetical wall, unable to come up with an excuse or a response to Sweetie Belle's question.

"Tick tock, Twilight," Rarity impatiently said, "we haven't got all day, you know."

Still, Twilight remained silent. Twilight was silent and Rainbow Dash couldn't answer for her since she too was also left speechless.

"You're coming with us, Twilight." Rarity stated, grabbing a hold of Twilight with her vampony magic.

Twilight struggled mightily to break free of Rarity's grasp. Try as she might, however, Rarity was simply too strong for Twilight to handle.

"We both know that I'm stronger than you are, Twilight," Rarity mocked, "there's no sense in trying to break free, you know."

"Ugh," Twilight grunted, "where are you taking me?"

"That's none of your business, you traitor!" Rarity yelled.

"Let. Us. Go!" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"Don't take any hard feelings, Rainbow Dash," Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"It just so happens to be unfortunate for you," Rarity added, "seeing how you're one with Twilight."

"Come ladies," Vladimir spoke, "we nary a moment to spare."

With that said, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, the captured Twilight and Rainbow Dash, along with Vladimir and M19 all left the Golden Oaks Library and made their way towards their next destination – Canterlot.

* * *

 _ **~Meanwhile, in Canterlot~**_

"My sister," Princess Luna began, "I'm beginning to sense a terrible danger that approaches us rapidly."

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, Luna," Princess Celestia replied, "I'm sure that whatever is clouding your mind is all a mirage and simply nonexistent."

"How can you be so sure of yourself though?" Princess Luna asked. "What if it isn't in my mind but it really does exist?"

Princess Celestia comforted her younger sister by wrapping a hoof around her neck and bringing her closer to herself. Celestia could sense the uneasiness that Luna had clouding her mind at the moment and thought best to try and erase it from her mind.

"Come now, Princess Luna," Princess Celestia softly spoke, "there's nothing you need to fret about. I'm sure as always that Equestria and all of its citizens are as safe as they always are."

"But for how long, my sister?" Princess Luna questioned. "For how long can you see them as peaceful as they usually are? For how much longer can you see them frolicking down the side of the path, carefree and all? For how long can you see Equestria safe from another villain?"

"That," Princess Celestia heavily remarked, "is a question that even I know not the answer to."

"How can we be sure another vampony epidemic or - even worse - a lycan epidemic breaks out?" Princess Luna continued, hovering over next to the window of the throne room, looking out at the peaceful looking subjects that were before her. "How can we be sure nothing bad will ever happen again?"

"Those are questions which would boggle even the mind of Star Swirl the Bearded himself, Princess Luna." Princess Celestia responded.

Princess Luna turned back from the window and faced her older sister once more. Eyes heavy from exhaustion, she stumbled over next to Princess Celestia and whispered something to her, something which seemed to make Celestia herself wide-eyed.

"How can you be sure I will still be like this?" Princess Luna whispered. "How can you - you of all ponies - be sure that I won't snap and become Nightmare Moon again? Please...answer that for me."

Princess Celestia sighed, "I do not know, Princess Luna...I do not know..."

Princess Luna, failing to receive the comfort she had hoped for, left the throne room and made way towards her own bedroom, desperately wanting to get some sleep that she so heavily needed. Princess Celestia shook her head slowly, noticing that she had failed in trying to help out her sister. Ordering the guards that were in the throne room at the current moment to leave for a moment, Princess Celestia had shut the throne room doors slowly, leaving herself alone with only the thoughts that were clouding her own intelligent mind. She had neared the window Princess Luna had looked out of earlier, watching the sun set before her ever so slowly.

"Time to raise the moon, I suppose..." Princess Celestia sighed, understanding that her younger sister was in no condition to be able to do so.

Horn glowing a nice, soothing white color, Princess Celestia had begun raising the moon slowly into the sky, something she hasn't done in a while. When a sudden knock came before Princess Celestia, she became startled and lost concentration, raising the moon in a most unfortunate hurry. Risen, it was; Elegantly risen, it wasn't. The knock came again suddenly, making Princess Celestia wonder what her guards most likely wanted. She assumed that it was her guards knocking on the throne room door, likely because her guards were the only ones who would knock on them. Princess Celestia began to approach the throne room doors, but stopped in the middle of the throne room when the doors burst open.

"What in Equestria is going on here?" Princess Celestia demanded.

Entering the throne room was an angry Rarity, Sweetie Belle, a trapped Twilight Sparkle, a deformed unicorn Princess Celestia had never seen before, as well as a robotic pony.

Princess Celestia was confused. "Rarity?" She asked. "What are you doing with Princess Twilight?"

"Do you really consider her to be a Princess, Your Highness?" Rarity questioned.

"Lycan or not," Princess Celestia continued, "Princess Twilight is still a Princess."

"Well," Rarity chuckled, "that's interesting."

"Why do you say that, Rarity?" Princess Celestia asked. "Why are you holding down Princess Twilight?"

"Because she planned to destroy us!" Rarity and Sweetie Belle shouted in reply.

"I highly doubt that Princess Twilight would plot anything like that," Princess Celestia scoffed, defending her former star pupil, "I highly doubt that she would do anything like that in the first place."

"Er, Your Highness," Vladimir cut in, "if I may say but a few words?"

"But of course, my little pony," Princess Celestia smiled.

Vladimir stepped up, surpassing an enraged Rarity and Sweetie Belle. "Your Highness," he began, "I can vouch for anypony in legitimately any way possible. This time - an unfortunate time - I am vouching for Miss Rarity and her younger sister, Sweetie Belle."

"And why is that?" Princess Celestia questioned.

"I heard Princess Twilight myself plotting to get rid of these ponies myself." Vladimir replied. "I heard her and so did Princess Luna, the pony Princess Twilight told her plan to."

"Princess Luna?" Princess Celestia repeated. "My sister, Princess Luna? You surely can't be serious."

"If you don't believe me, Princess Celestia," Vladimir continued, "then why not try asking her yourself? You know your younger sister better than anypony here in this room, I'm sure you can tell when she is lying to your face."

Princess Celestia gulped. She knew that what Vladimir stated was the cold, honest truth. She could tell when her sister was hurt, sad, or lying. She could tell when something was wrong with Princess Luna and she'd always try to fix it and make things better, whether it be comforting her or by approaching the problem herself. Without giving this atrocious thought one more moment, Princess Celestia glanced over towards one of the guards that came rushing in after Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Vladimir, and M19 all came into the throne room.

"Please," she started, "go bring me Princess Luna immediately."

"As you wish, Your Highness," the guard answered as he rushed out of the throne room to go retrieve the Princess of the Night.

"As for you, Rarity," Princess Celestia continued, "I must request that you release Princess Twilight from your magic."

"That's an abominable request, Your Highness!" Rarity snapped.

"Rarity," Princess Celestia heavily remarked, "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you: release Princess Twilight at once! That is an order from your Princess."

"Quid pro quo, Your Highness," Rarity replied, "quid pro quo. That simply won't happen unless I can get a confirmation that you will handle Princess Twilight with the punishment. If I don't receive a solemn reply, then Princess Twilight isn't going to be the only one who has to worry about us."

"Rarity," Princess Celestia began, trying her best to defuse the situation that currently seemed to be spiraling out of control, "I need you to calm down and collectively pull yourself together. You are not like this; I know you're not."

"Princess Celestia," Rarity snapped, "with all due respect, _you_ are the one who needs to collectively pull yourself together!" She turned towards Sweetie Belle and nodded at her. They turned their attention back at Princess Celestia. "Allow us to help you with that!"

Princess Celestia widened her eyes as Sweetie Belle used her vampony magic to hold her down. Vladimir helped secure Princess Celestia's capture as well and solidified her trapped state. Princess Celestia tried breaking off and freeing herself from Sweetie Belle's and Vladimir's grasp, but the two unicorns' magic was oddly too strong for Princess Celestia to break free from. Not a moment later did Princess Luna come into the throne room, aided by one of Princess Celestia's guards. Princess Luna attempted to free Princess Celestia herself from Sweetie Belle and Vladimir, though Rarity managed to put a stop to that as well by threatening Princess Luna and the royal guard that stood before them as well.

"Not another step, Luna!" Rarity shouted.

"That's Princess Luna, thou ungrateful whelp!" Princess Luna shouted in reply, using the Royal Canterlot voice to clearly state her point.

"Not anymore!" Vladimir stated.

"From now on," added Sweetie Belle, "we are the rulers of Equestria!"

"Equestria will dominantly be a vampony society like it was supposed to be!" Rarity declared. "And our first act as rulers will be to lock you away in the dungeons for siding with this traitor!"

Rarity then teleported all three princesses away with her evil vampony magic and blasted away the royal guard, slamming the doors to the throne room shut in the process. Equestria was taken over by the evil vamponies and Vladimir and there was little to no help available to this outburst!

"Equestria is ours for the taking and there is nopony who can stop us now!" Rarity shouted, setting herself down on top of Princess Celestia's throne.

* * *

 _ **~Beneath Canterlot, inside the dungeons~**_

Deep in the Canterlot dungeons - the same dungeons that our confused hero-turned-villain Robert was banished to - Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash had all appeared in a rusted old, raggedy dungeon magically after being teleported away by the evil vampony Rarity herself, leaving Equestria defenseless once more. The surrounding area was pitch black, making seeing a terribly tough task. Twilight, now a lycan, was able to locate both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna through the dark, engulfing area, bringing the two close together so that they could get warmer, seeing how it also was dark here in the dungeons.

"Princess Luna," Princess Celestia quietly started, voice echoing throughout the dungeon, "tell me: did Twilight tell you that she wanted to get rid of Rarity and Sweetie Belle?"

"Princess Twilight only told me that you needed to be alerted," Princess Luna replied, "nothing more, nothing less."

"So," continued Princess Celestia, "they were lying. I should've known that they were the ones lying. I knew you wouldn't plan anything like that, Princess Twilight."

Twilight chuckled uncomfortably, "Yeah, I wouldn't."

"Now there's just the one question as to how we get ourselves out of here." Rainbow Dash added.

The new voice startled Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They hadn't known yet that Twilight and Rainbow Dash had fused together by accident and were now stuck together. Twilight wanted to mention to the two princesses earlier that she had Rainbow Dash infused in her body, but the timing seemed way out of whack and the perfect opportunity never revealed itself to do it properly.

"Who was that?" Princess Luna asked.

"That was Rainbow Dash, Princess Luna." Twilight answered.

"How can that be Rainbow Dash?" Princess Luna continued.

"She died a while ago." Princess Celestia added.

"And I became a ghost and started messing around and stuff." Rainbow Dash completed. "Point is: I flew into Twilight's umm...furry...body - eww - and now I'm stuck in it."

Luna smiled. "Two ponies-"

"They aren't ponies any longer, Princess Luna," Princess Celestia reminded her younger sister.

"A lycan and a ghost working together in the same body?" Luna chuckled. "That sounds like an interesting adventure."

"You don't know the half of it." Twilight and Rainbow Dash stated at the same time.

"No," a new voice stated, " _you_ don't know the half of it!"

The new voice startled the three princesses, making them frantically look around to try and trace to origin point of said new voice. Not even Twilight, who could see in the dark as clear as daylight, could trace the origin point of the new voice. Standing her guard, she started to brace herself for whatever was around her, Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia.

"Who's there?" Twilight demanded to know.

"Calm yourself down, Sparkle," the voice continued, "I mean, I may still have grudges against certain ponies, but I mean no harm."

"Where are you?" Princess Celestia questioned.

"Show yourself!" Princess Luna demanded.

"Calm down, you three," the voice chuckled, "you all look like you've been spooked by a ghost or something."

"That would probably be my doing," Rainbow Dash joked.

Twilight began losing her patience. She, along with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, lit up their horns and brightly lit up the surrounding area. There still was no fourth body to trace the voice back to, though that soon changed when a tall, sleek, emerald colored pony stepped out from beyond the shadows and revealed themselves to the three princesses, plus Rainbow Dash. Twilight caught a glimpse of the pony at first, but couldn't believe her eyes when she figured out who exactly this was.

"Robert?" Twilight gasped. "Is that you?"

"Who else would randomly pop up here out of nowhere," Robert sarcastically replied, "Princess Cadance? Prince Lunar?"

"No need to be so sarcastic, you know," Twilight snapped.

"Coming from the pony who ate me and nearly killed me," Robert continued, "are you serious? The only Princess I have no problem with is Princess Celestia. You, Twilight, ate me and Princess Luna left me on the brink of death!"

"Let's get something straight, Robert," Princess Luna butted in, "you challenged me to a magic duel and got hurt severely. My intentions are to never kill one of my subjects, but you asked for a significantly large amount of pain to be dealt to you. If you're still angry about what happened, you need to get over it and move on."

"Now, now, Princess Luna," Princess Celestia smiled, "you too, Princess Twilight, leave Robert alone. He's obviously had some time to at least try and ease his stress that we've cause him and we've only ourselves to blame for that stress. Are you okay, Robert?"

Robert glanced over with the heaviest sarcastic look in his eyes. "Yes, Your Highness," he answered in an asinine way, "I'm perfectly okay. I'm just fine and dandy after being locked up here for months! And it's all thanks to you!"

Princess Luna grew annoyed, though she remained silent. Twilight (and yes, Rainbow Dash, too) also grew annoyed, but looked the other way and attempted to not get sucked into the conversation in a negative fashion. Princess Celestia, who also was growing rather annoyed with Robert, continued to comfort him, pushing back the negativity Robert was offering at the moment.

This reunion with Robert was a rather unusual one, though if Equestria needs to be saved yet again from vamponies, perhaps Robert could be of importance here. Robert looked all around him and began growing impatient. Soon after, he broke the ice with the others again.

"Enough with the small talk and accusations," Robert spoke, "let's get down to the real things that matter most."

"What exactly do you mean?" Twilight wondered.

Robert snickered, "Why are you three here? What has driven you to come visit me?"

"We didn't come to visit you, Robert," Twilight answered.

"She's right," Princess Luna added, "we were brought here by force."

"By force?" Robert repeated. "Seriously? That's the best excuse you could come up with?"

"It's not an excuse, Robert," Princess Celestia defended her younger sister and Twilight, "it's the bizarre truth."

"How can that be true?" Robert questioned. "Call me crazy, but when I was a vampony and challenged Princess Luna to a magic duel, if my memory is accurate, I do believe that Princess Luna was a normal alicorn and defeated me fairly easily. Based off of that scenario, shouldn't you alicorns be some of the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria, speaking in terms of magic?"

"Your facts are accurate, to an extent," Princess Luna answered.

"But your assumption isn't necessarily true." Princess Celestia added.

"It isn't?" Robert asked.

"Not really," Princess Celestia answered.

"You see, Robert," Twilight spoke, "alicorns are powerful in terms of magic, but there are creatures that exceed beyond alicorn power. Trust me, I know."

"I can see that, you lycan." Robert accused.

"How do you know what I am?" Twilight asked.

"I can tell when I see a lycan myself, Twi," Robert continued, "it's not an uncommon thing bac...scratch that. There are plenty of stories explaining what you are and a couple of pictures showing your status."

Twilight gave an uncomfortable look at Robert, as did Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. Nobody thought to speak out and question Robert about that statement. Nobody, but Rainbow Dash, that is.

"Am I the only pony who thinks that that was a little bit on the weird side?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Robert's ears twitched and shot upward as they picked up Rainbow Dash's voice. Robert frantically looked around, trying to locate Rainbow Dash physically, failing to realize that the point of origin was Twilight's mouth.

"Where are you, Rainbow Dash?" Robert asked.

 _Please, let me have some fun with him, Twilight._ Rainbow Dash told Twilight telepathically.

 _As a bit of payback for the heavy sarcasm from earlier,_ Twilight replied, _go crazy, Rainbow Dash._

"Robert," Princess Celestia spoke, "Rainbow-"

"Princess Celestia," Twilight cut in, "uhh...you have something in your mane."

"I do?" Princess Celestia questioned.

"You most certainly do," Twilight continued, "allow me to get that for you."

Twilight walked over to Princess Celestia and positioned herself so that she could whisper something in her ear.

"Let's have a little fun with Robert right now," Twilight whispered, motioning her paw in the air to make it seem like she was removing something from Princess Celestia's mane, "just go along with it."

"I won't say a word." Princess Celestia replied back, deciding to go along with the fun. She cleared her throat, then thanked Twilight for removing the object from her mane.

"You're welcome, Princess Celestia," winked Twilight.

In the meantime, Robert was still trying to find Rainbow Dash physically. Rainbow Dash was cracking up on the inside of Twilight and tried her best to contain herself. Robert lit up his horn, which wasn't as bright as it used to be, trying to find Rainbow Dash in the cave of darkness they were all in currently.

"Come on, Rainbow," Robert spoke, "where are you?"

"Over here, Robert!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

Robert rushed over to where Twilight and Princess Celestia were, trying his best to find Rainbow Dash, though failing to locate her altogether. He grunted, starting to get a bit annoyed.

"Seriously, Rainbow," Robert continued, "where are you?"

"Can't you see me, Rob?" Rainbow Dash chuckled.

The other ponies tried their best to contain their laughter while they all watched Robert frantically try to locate Rainbow Dash. It was like watching a one-pony show, where the only character has gone completely insane, believing that the voices they were hearing originated from a physical being. Robert failed to locate Rainbow Dash all together and, as a result, gave up the search and paid his attention back towards Twilight and the other Princesses.

"Robert," Twilight chuckled, "Rainbow Dash is-"

"Allow me, Twilight," Rainbow Dash cut off.

Robert was shocked to hear two different voices coming from Twilight. He jumped back, then began to put two and two together.

"What happened to you, Twilight?" Robert asked. "Why is Rainbow Dash's voice attached to you."

"Oh brother," Rainbow Dash sighed, "this is going to be one awkward explanation."

"You can say that again, Dash," Twilight agreed.

"What's going on?" Robert demanded to know.

"It's time we explain the entire story to you, Robert." Twilight said.

"So get comfy," Rainbow Dash added, "because it is sure to be a long one."

Robert sternly stared at Twilight and prepared himself to hear their explanation. The others watched, hoping to see how Robert would react to such an absurd, but true story.

* * *

"Okay, so lemme see if I got all of this straight." Robert said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Shoot." Twilight replied.

"So you died, Twilight," continued Robert, "as did you, Rainbow Dash, only to both come back as different beings?"

"That's right, Robert," Twilight praised.

Robert snickered, "That's got to be the dumbest response I've ever heard."

"Well," a disgusted Twilight replied, "excuse-"

"BUT," Robert butted in, "it has to be true. Here you are, standing before me as something other than a pony and with Rainbow Dash lodged inside of you. Either she is also telling the truth and she really is stuck inside of you, or you, Twilight, can do a real good Rainbow Dash impression."

"I'm telling the truth!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Prove it then." challenged Robert.

"You were killed in your world, came here, and, after time had passed, married Rarity, only to go berserk and get locked up in here while Rarity divorced from you." Rainbow Dash stated.

"Honestly, Dash," Robert chuckled, "I do believe everyone I know already knew that. You're gonna have to prove yourself a bit better for me to believe you."

"I do remember you telling me one thing," Rainbow Dash smiled, "one thing you only told me."

"And what might that be?" Robert sarcastically replied.

"You told me that you liked Princess L-"

"OKAY!" Robert shouted, cutting off Rainbow Dash, whom was internally giggling right now. "I believe you!"

"That's what I thought," Rainbow Dash chuckled.

Rubbing the back of his neck with his dusty emerald colored hoof, Robert proceeded to ask what he was needed for.

"...if I'm here as a regular old unicorn," he added, "why are my services needed? Clearly you can take care of it yourselves."

"You know Rarity better than we do, Robert," Princess Celestia stated.

"After all, you were married to her for a short while." Princess Luna added, blushing in the ever most slightest shade of lavender.

"Never more," Robert said, rolling his eyes, "quoth the raven, 'nevermore.'"

"Beg pardon?" Twilight muttered, confused by what Robert just stated.

"Quoth the raven, 'nevermore.'" Robert stated again. "Meaning, not anymore."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes (something that nobody else could or would ever see). "Surely she had to have told you something about herself that we don't know."

"Tis a visitor," Robert muttered, "tapping at my chamber door - only this, and nothing more."

"What?" Everyone asked, having some slight pauses between the different voices.

"Only this, and nothing more," Robert chuckled, "I know nothing more than you all do about her."

"Is that so?" Princess Celestia asked, cocking an eyebrow in the process.

"Only this," Robert smiled falsely, "and nothing more. Your pursuits in trying to seek out my help are nothing more than trying to replace Rarity's Element of Harmony, her elegant Element of Generosity. Both seem too farfetched to even happen, but if you still want my help, I'll do it, but on one condition."

"And what might that be, Robert?" Twilight asked.

Robert cocked an eyebrow, then looked all around him. The others couldn't exactly get at what Robert was suggesting, but Princess Celestia got the memo.

"In exchange for your help, Robert," Princess Celestia heeded, "you will have your utmost release from this dungeon with a full pardon. Sound fair?"

"I would have wanted that," Robert smiled, shifting his attention from Princess Celestia to Twilight, "only that, and nothing more."

Twilight didn't like the way Robert answered Princess Celestia's question, or the fact that he had menacingly glanced at her while answering the regal Princess of Equestria, but was content knowing that he was now on their side; for now he was, at least. Later could turn out to be an entirely different story if Robert was lying in his response. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in the meantime were both happy as can be, knowing that they have reunited one of the lost Element of Harmony holders.

"So, brainiac," Robert teased, "certainly you must have a plan as to how we could stop Rarity, don't you?"

Twilight glared at Robert harshly. Robert, being an ex-con, didn't have to be as much of an ass as he currently was, but understood in the slightest bit, seeing how he may still have some biased feelings towards everyone that was standing before him at the moment. Nevertheless, Twilight did answer the question that was solely asked to her and only her.

"As a matter of fact, tiny," Twilight replied, toying with Robert and his emotions a bit, "I do. It's a long shot of a plan, but it may just work."

"Lay it on us, Twilight," Robert replied, getting the message from when Twilight called him 'tiny,' "this is sure to be a good one."

"Okay," Twilight continued, "so here's what we're gonna do..."

* * *

 _ **~Back inside the Canterlot castle~**_

"Why did I hesitate becoming this once more?" Rarity smirked. "This is the greatest thing I've ever wanted!"

"Pipe down, Rarity." Sweetie Belle spoke. Vlad looks like he wants to tell us something."

"Thank you, Sweetie Belle." Vladimir smiled. "You ladies sure know how to overpower other helpless ponies, now don't ya?"

"You could say that, Vladdy."

"And I most certainly will and did, Rarity." Vladimir continued. "Now, if it isn't too much trouble to ask...I was...never mind. It's too farfetched."

"No, go on, Vlad." Rarity insisted.

"I'm sure that whatever it is, it's nothing that we can't do for you." Sweetie Belle added.

"Well, since you insist so much, Sweetie Belle," Vladimir smirked, "I was wondering if you could turn me into a vampony, much like yourselves. Does that seem like a possibility, hmm?"

Rarity and Sweetie Belle, whom were both positioned on top of Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's thrones respectively, glanced at each other, then began to smile.

"I'd thought that you'd never ask, Vladdy," Rarity softly spoke, fluttering her eyes at the deformed unicorn.

"Shall you do the honors, Rarity," Sweetie Belle chimed, "or shall I do them?"

"Allow me, dear little sister," Rarity replied, nearing Vladimir in the process.

Vladimir was beaming with happiness, something he has rarely ever felt in his life. To put in short: happiness was a rarity for Vladimir. Vladimir positioned himself clearly so that Rarity wouldn't have to lean in to him, making her job a bit more easier than it was made out to be. Rarity smiled, then approached the deformed unicorn's neck, stopping suddenly.

"Are you ready, Vladdy?" Rarity smiled.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Vladimir replied.

"Then let us begin, shall we?" Rarity finished, driving her jagged fangs deep into Vladimir's along and coat, sucking out some of his blood.

Unaware of how unsettling the bite would be, Vladimir shouted out painfully, although he quickly stopped himself from doing that much longer. Moments later, Rarity pulled herself from Vladimir's neck and some immediate changes started occurring and happening. First and foremost, the most obvious change made to Vladimir was that his body was about as normal as a regular old pony's body. His two shortened legs now matched the length of the other two, which increased in length as well, thus increasing his overall height, matching Rarity's increased height - which matched Princess Luna's and Princess Cadance's height. Vladimir also began to feel his fangs sharpen and extend themselves as well.

"Oh, this is spectacular!" Vladimir shouted as his transformation into becoming a vampony was nearing completion.

"Isn't it, though?" Rarity smiled.

While Vladimir was completing his transformation, Rarity and Sweetie Belle walked out onto a nearby balcony and gazed over the new land that they had just conquered and took over. Rarity took in a breath, then began talking to her younger sister, the ironic vampony leader.

"Take one last look, Sweetie Belle," Rarity told her, "for from this moment forth, it will be our land! Our Canterlot! Our Ponyville! Our Manehattan! Our Equestria!"

While finishing that statement, Rarity had begun to embrace her majestic horn with her evil vampony magic. With it, she turned the color of the sky from a clear, calm, majestic cerulean color, to a fearful, menacing, threatening red color. Not too long after that did the two vampony sisters hear some cries from the ponies that were frolicking in the once peaceful day. They began scattering and seeking shelter inside their own homes as the peaceful day turned into a menacing takeover. Rarity smiled evilly, as did Sweetie Belle, as they were rejoined by Vladimir on the balcony.

"This will be our Equestria forever!" Rarity demonically shouted, closely following it with an evil laugh. "Nopony can stop us now!"

* * *

 _ **~Back underneath Canterlot, inside the dungeons~**_

"What a plan..." Robert semi-sarcastically stated.

"If you have a better one," Twilight replied, "I'd love to hear it."

"I'm not being sarcastic, Twi," Robert claimed, "I'm just saying."

"Just saying what, exactly?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"That it's a good plan." Robert defended. "Trust me, I've seen crappier plans than that play off and pull through. I'm a hunter, so I know a good plan when I see one and I know what to do if said plan were to backfire in any way."

"See it that way." Twilight chuckled.

"Quoth the raven, 'nevermore.'" Robert reiterated once more.

The others simply rolled their eyes. Twilight chuckled, then rounded up "the troops" and began phase one of her plan - their escape.

"This will work and by the end of it all," Twilight provided as a form of self esteem booster, "we will take down Rarity and the others."

 _We'll see, Twilight,_ Robert thought, _we'll see..._

The unlikely group of heroes began walking in one direction, into the darkness of the dungeons. What they had hoped for was to find a way out of said dungeons before time ran out for them. As they moved into an unseeable abyss, many thoughts clouded everyone's mind, especially Robert, who longed to see Rarity once more, but for a reason he hoped was not true.

* * *

After struggling for what seemed like hours, the group of ponies finally found an exit to the dungeons and started breathing sighs of relief.

"Way to go, Twilight," Rainbow Dash praised.

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash," Twilight condoled, looking back and facing the eerie Robert, "glad to know that somepony is thankful."

"Oh, trust me, Sparkle," Robert menaced, "I am deeply grateful that I get to see the light of day once more, though, to be honest, I'd rather see a blue sky instead of a red one."

"That is not my doing if you are all wondering," Princess Celestia claimed.

"Nor ours," added Princess Luna, "it is the work of them."

"Who's?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"Rarity's?" Twilight added.

Princess Luna nodded. "Most certainly, as painful as it is to say it."

"Where are we now?" Robert casually asked, failing to skip a beat.

Twilight looked around her and took in the extravagant scenery. Something about this area felt familiar to her, though she couldn't place her paw on what exactly that familiarity was. She began walking around in an attempt to try and jog her memory of this location.

"Everything okay, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight disregarded the question and continued to walk around and take in the surrounding scenery. Around her, trees stood everywhere. The group of ponies (and one mythological creature with a ghost trapped inside of it) were in the center of a secluded, open, abandoned area of a forest. Whether or not it was the Everfree Forest, the group was unsure of that.

Rainbow Dash grew impatient, having yet to receive an answer. "Twilight!?"

"Huh? Wh-what?" Twilight wondered, finally accepting the sound nearby, something that was being tuned out the last five minutes.

"Is everything okay, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked yet again.

"Oh," Twilight replied, "uhh...ye-yeah, Rainbow Dash. Umm, ev-everything is...is..."

Twilight had begun to drift off as the surrounding scenery started becoming clearer and clearer to her. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, still wanted a clear answer, and to try to get Twilight's attention, she expanded Twilight's wings and began flapping one of them.

"Something troubling you, Rainbow?" Twilight asked.

"No," replied Rainbow Dash, "is something troubling _you?_ "

"This place..." Twilight said.

"What about it?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"It...it looks familiar." Twilight answered.

Robert overheard Twilight talking to Rainbow Dash and decided to input something of his own in response to Twilight's familiarity with this area.

"What do you know about this place, Twi?" Robert lucratively questioned, dragging Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's attention over to Twilight as well.

"What is this about Princess Twilight knowing something about this area?" Princess Luna demanded.

"Have you been here before?" Princess Celestia asked Twilight.

Twilight, who was still looking around, answered back solemly. "This place seems like home..."

"Home?" the other ponies spoke simultaneously.

"What do you mean, Twilight?" Princess Celestia added.

"This place," Twilight slowly replied, tailing off a bit towards the end, "I've been here before."

"How do you know?" Robert snickered.

Suddenly, without warning, some wolves in the nearby area began howling. This sudden howl frightened everyone, Rainbow Dash included, but Twilight. These howls were nothing new to her. In fact, they were some of the same howls she heard the first day she came back to "life."

"This is the same place I first was when I came back!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Great," Robert cowered, "fantastic. Now would you please be so kind as to _GET US OUT OF HERE!?_ "

"Calm down, scaredy pony," Twilight teased.

"It's not that easy, you know," Robert complained, "after all, you are one of them in a way. You're used to this kind of thing. Us living ponies, on the other hand, are not used to that kind of thing. Right, Princesses?"

"Not in the slightest," Princess Celestia agreed.

Princess Luna replied with a simple nod of the head.

"Well then," continued Twilight, "if you're all so scared and want to leave now," she pointed one of her paws in the eastern direction, "Ponyville is right over in that direction."

"What about you?" Princess Celestia asked.

"I'll follow you, Princess," Twilight replied.

"It'd probably be better if you led, Twilight," Princess Luna suggested.

"Then I'll do just that," Twilight smiled, heading out towards the east, towards town.

The pursuit towards Canterlot had only begun and the mission was clear – take down Rarity, once and for all. The group of ponies, in accompany with Twilight the lycan and Rainbow Dash the ghost, were set to regain full control of Equestria and stop one of the greatest threats they had ever seen.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the balcony of the castle, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were overlooking the capital city for their new empire. Rarity admired it very much and had smiled brightly, finally seeing her dreams come true and with no one in their way to stop them.

"Look at it, Sweetie Belle...look at it..."Rarity said in awe.

"I still can't believe that it's all ours, Rarity."

"This is just a stepping stone, Sweetie Belle, Rarity." Vladimir advised.

"What do you mean, Vladdy?" asked Rarity.

"Why stop with just Equestria, Rarity?" Vladimir stated. "There's Saddle Arabia, Griffonstone, the Changeling Empire, and other places as well, just waiting for us to take over!"

"I hadn't really thought of that, Vladdy," Rarity smiled, "perhaps we should expand..."

"But we'll need an army of our own." Sweetie Belle pointed out.

"Hmm...you're right..." Rarity grimaced.

"Why not make one of our own?" Vladimir suggested. "We have that ability to do so, don't we?"

"By infecting other ponies alike," Rarity said, "we most certainly do."

"Good," Vladimir chuckled, "so I'll get a quick jump start to constructing our army of vamponies. How's that sound?"

"Sounds delicious..." Rarity replied, licking her lips. She had begun to fantasize about the amount of blood that would be at their disposal as a result of this idea. Vladimir excused himself and, along with M19, began to put the plan into effect.

Rarity had walked back out onto the balcony, rejoining her little sister in watching the sun set over the far horizon over their new territory. Sweetie Belle looked up at Rarity and started to have feelings of doubt and guilt cloud her mind. She began wondering if what they were doing was the right thing.

"Rarity?" Sweetie Belle squeaked.

"Yes, Sweetie Belle?"

"Is this...right?"

"What do you mean?" Rarity questioned.

"I mean, is what we're doing the right thing?" Sweetie Belle asked, making direct eye contact with Rarity.

Rarity was fuming. "Why would you even say something like that!?"

"Look at what we're doing, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle shouted in defense. "What have they ever done to us!? If at all, our rage should only be pointed towards Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Twilight! They were the ones plotting against us, not the innocent ponies down there!"

"How dare you speak to your sister like that, Sweetie Belle," Rarity scolded, "how dare you! This is what we've want-"

"What _you've_ wanted!" Sweetie Belle cut off. " _I_ didn't want this! _You_ did!"

"Whatever," Rarity ignored, "go back inside. You don't know what you're saying, probably from the lack of air that's up here."

Sweetie Belle stormed off into the throne room, slamming the balcony door shut with her newly developed magic. She sat atop Princess Luna's throne, then slowly stepped off of it, knowing quite well that it wasn't hers. Sweetie Belle was torn between two things this very moment.

 _What do I do?_ She thought. _I want the old Rarity back, but...this isn't right..._

Suddenly, without warning, Vladimir bursted back through the throne room doors. He appeared to have been struck by something, though what it was was inconclusive, seeing how the throne room doors slammed shut behind Vladimir as he was thrown into the room. Rarity heard the blast, as did Sweetie Belle, as they both went to help aid Vladimir.

"What's wrong, Vladdy?" Rarity asked.

"What's going on?" Sweetie Belle added.

"They're here!" Vladimir gasped, collapsing on the ground below him and shutting his eyes.

"Who's here?" Rarity snapped, tears beginning to fill her eyes. "Tell me, who did this to you!?"

"...Them..." Vladimir whispered, letting out a long sigh.

Rarity collapsed onto Vladimir's body. She knew what had happened to Vladimir.

He had died.

Rarity grew even more angrier and stared at the doors to the throne room.

"You shall pay for this!" She cried out in a demonic tone.

* * *

"Serves him right!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"I hate to admit it," Princess Luna added, "but he did."

"Now all that's left is Rarity!" Twilight screamed.

The group of determined friends were standing just outside of the Canterlot throne room. Thanks to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, they had teleported from the dungeons beneath Canterlot to the entrance to the Canterlot Castle. It was a bit hard teleporting four ponies at once – rather, three ponies and one mythological being – but the job was done, and just in the nick of time as well. The group found themselves teleporting in front of Vladimir, whom at the time, was trying to convert somebody else into becoming a vampony. Startled, Vladimir sprinted back inside the castle to warn Rarity and Sweetie Belle, but was closely chased by Twilight and Robert, ultimately being struck down just outside of the throne room. Twilight turned around and used her hind paws to burst through the throne room doors where, in the middle of the room, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were waiting for them.

"So, Twilight," Rarity menacingly spoke, "we meet once more."

"Enough talk, Rarity," Twilight shouted in reply, "your reign of terror ends here!"

"Then I gather that was you earlier who killed Vladimir," Rarity accused, "wasn't it?"

"If that is what you want to believe," Twilight said, "so be it, but this is where you will fall!"

"Don't be so silly, Twilight," Rarity chuckled, grabbing a hold of the lycan with her magic and bringing her closer, "we both know that I'm the more powerful one of us both."

"Magic is a mysterious thing, Rarity," Twilight smiled, not frightened at all by being completely immobilized, "there's more to magic than just brute strength, you know."

"Oh, quite the contrary," Rarity laughed, "for it is within the brute strength that brings out the most elegant of magic styles!"

"Is it?" Twilight immediately responded. "Is it really?"

"Of course it is, Twilight!" Rarity spoke. "Why, if it wasn't for brute strength, you wouldn't be sitting right here in front of me, now would you?"

"I suppose not, Rarity," Twilight smirked, "but you have a lot more to learn about magic."

"Is that so?" Rarity scoffed.

"Very much," Twilight replied, "allow me to demonstrate." Upon completion, she began to glow.

"What are you doing?" Rarity heeded.

"Something that is sure to scar you for the remainder of your life!" Twilight screamed.

In accompany with Rainbow Dash flapping her wings, Twilight sent out beams of magic from her horn all around her, creating some sort of force field of protection, canceling out Rarity's evil vampony magic. Sweetie Belle had seen this, but was too indecisive as to who the actual enemy was. Robert, in the meantime, was tending to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, both of which were very exhausted after teleporting Twilight and Robert, along with themselves, here to Canterlot, leaving just Twilight alone with Rarity and Sweetie Belle.

Rarity had noticed her sister idly standing by and requested that she helped immediately.

"Can't you see that I can't handle Twilight on my own!?" Rarity screamed.

 _Who do I help?_ Sweetie Belle conflicted in her head. _Who's the real enemy?_

"Help me, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity shouted.

Sweetie Belle rapidly glanced between Twilight and Rarity, still unsure as to who she should help.

A quick and unfortunate misstep made by Twilight opened up a window of opportunity for Rarity, whom gladly took it and attacked Twilight. Twilight was tackled by Rarity and pinned down to the floor, struggling desperately to get up. Rainbow Dash tried flapping the wings, but trying to take off from the ground while upside down was a challenging task for any Pegasus pony, or any creature that could fly.

Twilight tried pointing her magic towards Rarity to try and blast her away and allow herself to stand back up, but Rarity was positioned perfectly in an area where Twilight's magic was unable to reach. Rarity had begun laughing, storing up some powerful magic in her horn, magic that was being aimed at Twilight and Rainbow Dash!

"This is fantastic!" Rarity maniacally laughed while storing her magic. "I've beaten you not once, but _twice_! Once as a vampony and now as a lycan, and still you aren't victorious! Talk about being weak!"

Twilight began frantically trying to break free from Rarity's grasp, but was overpowered heavily. Rarity was simply too strong for Twilight to break free from. She tightly shut her eyes, bracing for the worst.

"Let her go, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle shouted, plowing right through her older sister, sending the magic that was stored in her horn flying across the room, destroying a bit of the stone wall.

Rarity shot a mean look at her younger sister, sending a powerful beam of magic over towards her, striking her down.

"How DARE you!" Rarity screamed.

Twilight watched in horror as she witnessed Rarity strike down Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle was blasted to the other side of the throne room, not moving a single inch. She felt a tear begin to shed from her eye and quickly wiped it away.

 _Do this for Sweetie Belle,_ Rainbow Dash internally told Twilight.

 _We'll do it for her._ Twilight replied. She looked at Rarity. "How dare you do that! And to your own _sister_ no less! What in Equestria is wrong with you, Rarity!?"

"This is none of your business, Sparkle!" Rarity shouted, nearing her downed sister.

"Get away from her!" Twilight screamed, slamming into Rarity's side and striking her down with brute strength.

"You'll pay for that, Sparkle!" Rarity claimed.

Suddenly, the throne room doors swung open and Robert charged into the room. Rarity had pinned down Twilight once more and had tried driving her horn through Twilight's body, but was shot at by Robert and his magic. Rarity glanced over at Robert and slowly let down her guard, though Robert failed to do the same.

"R-Robert?" Rarity calmly said. "Is that you?"

"Now's your chance, Twilight!" Robert shouted. "Go!"

"Robert," Rarity continued, ignoring what Robert had just shouted to Twilight, "why are you here?"

"To see you fall." Robert said, watching Twilight crash into Rarity once more.

This crash between Twilight and Rarity was a bit different than the earlier ones. With this collision, Rarity's skin and coat were penetrated by Twilight's horn, after having been positioned perfectly prior to the rush. With a hole now in her side, Rarity began coughing up an excess amount of blood and had begun losing a large amount of blood once Twilight removed her horn from Rarity.

"B-B-But...why?" Rarity coughed, collapsing to the ground from blood loss.

Heavily hearted, Robert approached Rarity on the ground and towered over her. He wiped a tear from his eye, then spoke out to her.

"It had to be this way," Robert softly spoke, brushing Rarity's mane with his emerald hoof.

Robert, who was previously shedding little emotions, was now shedding even more tears as he began storing some magic in his horn. He was stocking up on power, ready to drive it straight into Rarity's collapsed body. Twilight, on the other hand, got up to go check on Sweetie Belle, knowing quite well that the fight between her and Rarity was complete.

"P-Please...don't h-hurt me, Ro-Robert," Rarity quivered, "I-I'm sorry..."

"It's too late for sorry, Rarity," Robert spoke through his tears, turning around to go join Twilight, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna, "I'd rather watch you slowly lose everything than end your life right here and now."

"Robert..." Rarity cried, her tears mixing with the pool of blood that lay around her.

"How's she doing?" Robert asked, wiping his eyes from the tears and approaching Twilight and Sweetie Belle.

"It doesn't look too good, Robert." Twilight claimed.

"This won't be much," Princess Celestia added, "but it's the best I can provide."

Princess Celestia then touched her horn with Sweetie Belle's body. Her horn had started glowing a magnificent silver colored aura – a color the nobody has really seen before – as it was in contact with Sweetie Belle.

"We need to bring her to the nearest hospital." Robert suggested. "She needs immediate attention!"

"We'll take her to the medical center we have here in the castle!" Princess Luna stated. "She'll receive the best care in all of Equestria there."

"Do so!" Robert said.

Sweetie Belle was then being carried carefully by Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Twilight as they started making their way towards the medical center. Twilight noticed that Robert wasn't following and asked him if he was coming.

"I'll come," Robert replied, "just give me a sec."

"Okay." Twilight answered, exiting the throne room.

Robert glanced over towards Rarity and approached her.

"Wh-why, Robert?" Rarity asked.

"It had to be like this." Robert boldly stated, slowly backing away from Rarity.

It was done. It was all over. Rarity's downfall and Robert's remorse. Everything had been completed.

* * *

"How is she, Doctor?" Twilight panicked.

"A little more rest and she'll be just fine." the doctor replied before leaving the room.

"Thank you." Twilight said, feeling totally relieved.

"Look," Princess Celestia said.

"She's waking up." added Princess Luna.

Sweetie Belle was currently in one of the medical center's beds, wires attached to her all over the place. She coughed a bit, then grunted as she was slowly waking up. When her vision became clear, she noticed that she was surrounded by Twilight, Lunar, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Robert.

"How are you feeling, Sweetie Belle?" Robert whispered.

"Better..." Sweetie Belle quietly replied. She coughed for a quick second before picking up where she left off. "Why did you...help me?"

"We couldn't let Rarity treat you like that any longer." Princess Celestia claimed.

"You...you all saved me." Sweetie Belle smiled.

"It was actually you who saved us, Sweetie Belle," Twilight replied.

"What do you mean?" Sweetie Belle coughed.

"If you hadn't knocked Rarity off of me," Twilight continued, "I wouldn't be standing here right now."

"I rushed here from the Crystal Empire to thank you personally, Sweetie Belle," Lunar said, "if you hadn't done that..." He trailed off, opting not to think about what could have happened.

"Not only did you save Twilight here," Princess Celestia spoke, picking up where Lunar left off, "but you saved all of Equestria by performing that act of bravery. We should be thanking you, Sweetie Belle."

"What happened to Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Robert started shedding a tear from his eye and was slowly comforted by Princess Luna. Princess Celestia and Twilight simply exchanged uncomfortable looks. Twilight sighed thereafter, then began telling Sweetie Belle what had happened.

"She's...gone, Sweetie Belle." Twilight ruefully spoke. She hated saying that, but it had to be said. She was wrapped by Lunar's wing, looking for the unspoken support he always gave.

"Gone?" Sweetie Belle repeated.

Twilight nodded in response. Sweetie Belle looked straight at the ceiling of the room and slowly smiled.

"She sure got what was coming to her." Sweetie Belle said, eyes beginning to shed some tears of her own.

"Aren't you sad, Sweetie Belle?" Princess Celestia asked. "After all, you just lost your sister for the second time..."

"The first time," Sweetie Belle continued, "I didn't understand why I lost her. Now, after seeing the way she acted myself, I understand why I had to lose her a second time."

"What are you going to do now, Sweetie Belle?" Lunar asked.

Sweetie Belle sighed, looking directly at Twilight and Lunar. "Somepony has to run the boutique, but that somepony is not me. I'll never be as good of a fashion designer as Rarity was, that's for sure."

"What are you going to do?" Princess Celestia asked.

"I'll search for my destiny on my own, I suppose," Sweetie Belle replied, "after all, I am still a blank flank. Who knows? Maybe I will be a fashion designer one day...but for now, I don't know what I'll do."

"Well," continued Twilight, "you are always welcome to stay with Spike, Rainbow, Lunar, and myself, Sweetie Belle."

"Thank you for the kind hospitality, Twilight." Sweetie Belle condoled, slowly drifting off back to sleep thereafter.

"Come, everypony," Princess Celestia smiled, "let her get her rest."

With that, everyone slowly exited the room, allowing Sweetie Belle to get some much needed sleep. Things were going to change around Equestria, and an Element bearer was soon to be one of them.

* * *

A month had passed since the events in Canterlot occurred. In that time, Sweetie Belle had fully recovered and Rarity was given a proper funeral in Canterlot, once more. She was remembered not as a savage or a rampaging vampony, but rather as an Element holder and one of the protectors of Equestria.

At the current moment, Sweetie Belle was playing with Applebloom and Scootaloo, something she hasn't done in a long, long time. The three were crusading around Ponyville, still trying to find their cutie marks and their destinies in life.

"How are you holding up, Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked.

"Pretty good, Scootaloo," answered Sweetie Belle.

"Do ya miss bein' with Rarity?" Applebloom questioned.

"A whole lot, Applebloom," Sweetie Belle replied, "but I know that she's looking down on me, smiling, knowing that her younger sister is so very happy with her life and what she is doing this very day."

"I'm sure she is, Sweetie Belle," the two other crusaders simultaneously spoke, "I'm sure she is."

* * *

"Is she really gone?"

"No, vamponies don't die. She may be buried right now, but she'll come back. As long as Sweetie Belle is still alive, she'll come back."

"Will she act the same as before?"

"She is unable to handle the true power of being a vampony, but her rage will force her to take revenge upon the society that has shunned her."

"She didn't act like that when I approached her back in the throne room on that day. She stopped right in her tracks."

"Perhaps you're the key between her sanity and insanity, Robert."

"For the sake of Rarity and for the protection of Equestria, I'll do my best to keep her rage under control when she comes back."

"Spoken like a true stallion, Robert."

"Thank you, Twilight."

"You're welcome, Robert."

 **-END-**


	9. An Amazing Friend Indeed

_**An Amazing Friend Indeed**_

* * *

Twas the day before Hearth's Warming  
And all was well.  
Fillies and colts gathered 'round  
The alicorn had a story to tell.

"Alright little ones,  
Come gather around.  
I'll tell you a story  
About a lost friend found.

"Her name is Kittypie  
And she's quite a sight.  
She is just as beautiful  
As my mentor's night.

"I am lucky to have  
Such a wonderful friend,  
One that I'll treasure  
'Til the very end.

"She is very smart,  
She is very bright.  
She is very beautiful,  
Her smile shines like light.

"She is very kind,  
She has a helpful hand.  
She brightens up my day,  
Her presence is well and grand.

"I'm lucky to have her  
I'm happy to say,  
She helped very much  
To find my way.

"I had a dark past,  
The light was dim.  
I wasn't very happy,  
My life was grim.

"Throughout my time,  
The light got darker.  
It got pitch black.  
It got darker than a marker.

"Then one day,  
All had changed.  
She showed up  
And showed my range.

"She listened to me,  
She heard my story.  
She showed me light,  
She shared a glory.

"I enjoyed her company,  
I enjoyed it well.  
She made me smile,  
My heart to her fell.

"Then one day,  
It all went south.  
She had left my life  
Because of my mouth.

"I was again lost,  
The light had gone out.  
She was long gone,  
My life was in doubt.

"I was all alone,  
I had messed up.  
I missed her greatly,  
I loved her. Eeyup.

"I didn't know  
What to do.  
I was very sorry  
And I hoped she knew.

"Days turned to weeks,  
Weeks to months.  
The longer I waited,  
The more I crunched.

"I still had emotions for her,  
I still longed to tell her.  
I wished for a second chance.  
I hoped to be with her.

"Then one day,  
She came back.  
She brightened my life up,  
I was no longer seeing pitch black.

"I was very happy  
To be with her again,  
To have her with me,  
To be her friend.

"I still have emotions for her,  
I'd love to tell her.  
So I got to thinking,  
I'll write a poem for her.

"So I got to writing,  
I wrote my heart out.  
I dedicated it to her,  
I went all-out.

"So this is it  
My little friends.  
That's the story  
Of two friends to no end.

"I hope you enjoyed it,  
I hope you had a bash.  
I have one last request:  
I dedicate this to my friend Ash.

"You are an awesome friend,  
This poem is for you.  
It explains how I felt,  
The emotions aren't few.

"I hope you understand,  
I hope this is okay.  
I hope our friendship  
Won't again stray away.

"So as we draw to a close,  
I finish with this:  
Happy Hearth's Warming everypony.  
Hope it's happy and bliss."


	10. Too Many Problems

_**Too Many Problems**_

* * *

Much time has passed since Prince Lunar Nights and Princess Twilight Sparkle were reunited. Things have slowed down to a point of normality and neither pony could have wanted it any other way. At the present moment, both ponies were busy with their royal duties. Princess Celestia knew that the two always worked together on pretty much everything and often times assigned both of them dual duties for them to complete together. Currently, Twilight and Lunar were hosting delegates from Saddle Arabia as they tried renewing a peace treaty between the two larger kingdoms in the world.

The delegates were pleased with the hospitality that Twilight and Lunar had offered and were in a much pleasant mood as they compromised for a new treaty. The new treaty called for twenty years of peace and gracious hospitality – if it were needed in a drastic catastrophe against Saddle Arabia – and left the delegates eager to agree on the spot, to which they did.

Twilight and Lunar beamed brightly with delight. They knew that Princess Celestia would be proud of their achievements and even more proud that the delegates agreed to the new treaty. They all signed the treaty together and immediately sent it to Princess Celestia for approval. Twilight turned to the delegates and thanked them both for their agreement and for making the journey to the far away Ponyville. The delegates both smiled in response and acknowledged Twilight's comment, saying that the pleasure was all theirs. Twilight smiled and noticed the treaty come back with Princess Celestia's seal of approval; the treaty was ratified.

After thanking the delegates once more, the two alicorns escorted them to their train and wished them a happy Hearth's Warming as they both traveled back to Saddle Arabia to deliver the good news to their subjects. As for Twilight and Lunar however, once the delegates were finally gone from sight, they both left the station for home again, tired and ready for bed.

As both ponies entered their room together, Lunar rested himself on his side of the bed. As for Twilight, she left the room for a brief moment and towards a washroom. She was in a very happy mood and wanted to let Lunar know it – again – but knew he was very tired and exhausted from all the compromising that was done today.

Twilight went into the washroom and noticed her medicine cabinet lurking over the crystalized sink. She opened it up and skimmed between the common items – cough medicine, allergy relief, toothpaste – while stopping her eyes on the very last item she had on the bottom shelf: a pregnancy test. She and Lunar had a little fun a few nights ago and she was curious as to what the result may be. She took it, eager for the results.

* * *

Back inside the bedroom, Lunar had nearly fallen into a deep sleep. He wanted to wait for Twilight to return so they could fall asleep together, but he was growing more and more tired by the second. As he was closing his eyes, he heard Twilight scream from down the hall, calling out his name. Lunar was surprised by the sudden sound and rushed out of the bed and towards Twilight. He wanted to see if she were alright and the scream was just a false alarm.

Lunar arrived at the washroom a couple of moments later and saw that Twilight was jumping up and down with joy. This confused Lunar, leaving him to ask what Twilight was beaming with delight about.

"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh!" Twilight squeaked.

"What," continued Lunar, "what is it?"

Twilight showed Lunar the pregnancy test and was even more excited now. "We're gonna have a baby!"

"W-We are!?" Lunar gasped, exchanging glances between the positive test and Twilight. He found it difficult to conjure up the correct words. "D-Does that mean…?"

"You're going to be a father!" Twilight beamed, hugging Lunar tightly.

"And you're going to be a mother!" Lunar smiled, hugging Twilight back just as tight.

"Our very own family, Lunar!" Twilight cried happily. "I can't wait for it!"

"Neither can I, Twily," Lunar replied, "neither can I."

* * *

The next day, Twilight and Lunar invited all of their friends into the castle for the big announcement. They were both eager to declare Twilight's pregnancy and were even more eager to see how their friends would react to the news. Rarity was the first to arrive, closely followed by Reticent, Orange Apple, Princess Cadance, and Pinkie Pie. They were all greeted happily and wanted to know why they were called.

"Wait until the others come, Orange Apple," Twilight smiled, "the news will be spectacular with all of you here together."

"Alright, Twi," Orange Apple smirked.

Immediately thereafter, the others joined in, as if they were summoned on cue. Lightning Dash, Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia all flew in from Canterlot, standing next to Reticent in a long line that ranged from one end of the room to the other. Eager to get things started, Twilight bounced happily up and down in place. Princess Cadance smiled, asking what it was that Twilight wanted to tell everyone.

"Everypony," Twilight began, "hold on to your hooves because we have something very special we wish to tell you all."

"What is it, Twilight?" Reticent quietly asked.

"Well-"

"Ooh, ooh!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "Is it super amazing, awesomerific news!?"

"Well, Pinkie," Lunar smiled, "the reason we've called you all here today is because…"

"Because what!?" Pinkie Pie responded, trying to contain her excitement.

"We're having a baby!" Twilight declared to everyone.

The others were shocked to hear the news, but were also very happy for Twilight and Lunar. Princess Cadance hugged Twilight for an extended time and told her that her brother would be proud of her and for all of her accomplishments she's done over the years. Twilight cried tears of joy as everyone congratulated both her and Lunar for their incredible gift.

"When are you due?" Rarity asked.

"Seven months, Rarity," Twilight answered happily.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you, Twilight," Rarity continued, crying tears of joy with Twilight.

"We are too, Rarity," Twilight replied, hugging Lunar tightly.

The group celebrated with Twilight and Lunar for the whole day and were all excited to welcome in the new child to the wonderful world of Equestria in the near future.

* * *

Over the next few months, Twilight had begun to develop a belly for her child. She soon found performing royal duties more and more difficult as time progressed. Eventually, she was grounded in her bed with Lunar dealing with most of the duties on his own. When available, Twilight had her friends help her out and take care of her a bit. It was a lot of work, but both Twilight and Lunar looked past them and towards the future for the end result: a family.

Twilight sighed greatly, exhausted from carrying her child for the last several months, but she was still very happy with her life. Lunar would also help Twilight feel better after his royal duties were complete. He was very excited to welcome in the new child to the family, whom was due any day now. Things have been long for the royal couple and news was spreading around like wildfire about the baby alicorn.

Lunar smiled and rubbed Twilight's belly once more, feeling the baby kick inside. He was happy about becoming a father and looked at Twilight. Twilight smiled happily as well, enjoying both the feeling of Lunar rubbing her belly and the baby kicking playfully inside of her.

Soon enough, both ponies fell asleep for the night and rested up. The night was very long and tiring, especially for Twilight, who was having her own problems trying to fall asleep. She stared out the window and up towards the sky, watching the billions and billions of tiny stars lighting up the night sky. It was at that moment when Twilight figured out a name for the little foal.

"I'll call you Starry Nights." She whispered to the baby, rubbing her belly softly.

Moments later, Twilight began feeling pain from inside her body. She screamed out in pain and woke up Lunar in a start. Lunar looked over and asked Twilight if everything was alright.

"Ugh," Twilight grunted, "I th-I think the baby is coming, Lunar!"

"Right now!?" Lunar gasped.

" _YES!_ "

"We need to move now!" Lunar called, helping Twilight out as they began to make their way towards the hospital.

The time was almost near to welcome the new royal baby to the world.

* * *

At the hospital, Twilight was rushed into a delivery room and was in more pain than she was before she arrived. Lunar, ordered by Twilight herself, stayed out and contacted their friends as the baby was being delivered. It was late at night – almost three in the morning, to be exact – but Twilight's friends understood the situation and came as quickly as they could, hoping that they could witness the birth of the new royal baby.

Lunar was nervous about Twilight. He had never heard her scream out in pain like that before, not even when they faced powerful foes together. He was pacing nervously around in the waiting room, hoping to see Twilight and their new child all fine. Moments later, Twilight's friends arrived in the waiting room and greeted him.

"Evenin', Lunar." Orange Apple said.

"Hello, Orange," Lunar responded, continuing to pace around nervously.

"Is everything okay, Lunar?" Reticent asked.

"I'm nervous about Twilight," Lunar admitted.

"She'll be fine, dear," Rarity assured, "she's dealt with worse before and you've known it."

"I know," continued Lunar, "but I've never heard her scream like that before."

"She's delivering a baby, Your Majesty," Rarity said, "it's a lot more painful than you might think it may be."

"How would you know?" Lunar questioned.

"Because my parents have told me," Rarity answered.

Lunar silenced himself thereafter and continued pacing around in the waiting room, nervous about seeing Twilight and their new baby.

A few moments later, the screaming stopped and all was silent. Lunar looked at the double-wide doors and awaited for Twilight to come through them, holding their child in her hooves. Instead, he saw a doctor come through the doors, approaching him in the process. The doctor was smiling, asking Lunar if he wished to see Twilight.

"Of course," Lunar quickly answered, being escorted by the doctor into the delivery room.

He walked through the double-wide doors and saw Twilight – exhausted and smiling – holding their little foal in her hooves. He smiled, nearing the break of emotional joy, as he approached both Twilight and the new royal baby. He kissed Twilight, then stared at the new child. It had a small horn and tiny wings, as well as a dark coat color and mane. It had specks of white inside a black mane and a coat color that was dark, but lighter than Lunar's coat.

"Congratulations, Princess Twilight and Prince Lunar," the doctor chimed, "your new child is a baby girl."

"Hey there, little one," Lunar whispered.

"She has her father's eyes." Twilight smiled.

"And her mother's beauty." Lunar added.

"What do you wish to name the new princess?"

"I was thinking about naming her Starry Nights." Twilight said.

"Starry Nights…" Lunar repeated.

"Do you like it?"

Lunar glanced at Twilight again, kissing her muzzle. "I love it, Twily."

The two new parents smiled brightly, watching their new bundle of joy flail slightly in Twilight's hooves.

* * *

After her birth, Starry Nights was quickly given a crown and a celebration by the royal ponies of Equestria. It was their way of revealing the royal princess to the common pony. Things worked out for a fairly long time and time itself seemed to fly by both Twilight and Lunar.

Soon enough, Starry Nights could walk and talk and even perform magic spells. She was far better than anyone else her age in magic, although her flying abilities could use a bit of help. She definitely takes after her parents, seeing how both of them had trouble flying and still do from time to time.

At school, Starry Nights was a bit of an outcast because of her title and appearance. It wasn't often that the school would come across a young alicorn princess – in fact, they have never come across one – so the other schoolponies teased her about it, especially her flying abilities. Starry Nights often came home and questioned why she was different. Twilight never liked hearing that question, nor did Lunar, but they always answered their daughter the same way.

"You're special, Starry," they told her, "you're a princess, you know."

"How come other ponies don't have both a horn and wings?" Starry Nights asked.

"Because very special ponies have both of them," Lunar would say.

"And you're our special little pony, Star," Twilight smiled.

Starry Nights felt happier after hearing her parents' response. She hugged them both, then left to go play in her room. As for Lunar and Twilight, they began talking amongst themselves quietly. Twilight sighed slightly, looking at Lunar with heavy eyes.

"I'm worried about Star's happiness, Lunar," she admitted to him.

"Why's that?"

"I feel as if she's being picked on for being an alicorn." Twilight explained. "This is the fourth time this year she's questioned about her appearance."

"You're right," he agreed, "but that's what kids do. They're curious about others."

"But enough to pick on them?" protested Twilight. "We don't know how it felt like; we both grew up as unicorns."

"Right…" Lunar answered.

"Should we talk to the class about the rarity of alicorns in Equestria?" Twilight wondered.

"I mean we could," Lunar replied, trailing off at the end.

"Buuut…"

"But what would that bring to Star?" Lunar continued. "She would just be picked on more for being different."

"Maybe the children need to come to terms with the differences." Twilight said. "We need to help Star…I want her to have a happy childhood."

"So do I, Twily," Lunar added, hugging Twilight, "I just want the best for us all."

"I know, Luny," giggled Twilight.

Lunar blushed. "So you wanna walk Star to school tomorrow and we talk to the teacher for a class discussion?"

"Sure thing, Prince." Twilight winked.

"Alrighty, Princess," Lunar chuckled, kissing Twilight on her cheek.

"I see somepony is affectionate." Twilight smirked.

"You started it," laughed Lunar.

"Oh did I now?" Twilight responded, kissing Lunar on his cheek.

Lunar smirked, kissing Twilight on her lips. Twilight giggled, then pulled away from Lunar, staring at him lovingly.

"Gotta work for them, big guy," Twilight winked.

"Oh alright, Princess," Lunar chuckled.

The two lovebirds laughed some more and went to their room for the night.

* * *

The next morning, Twilight and Starry Nights walked to school together. Lunar went ahead and flew to the school, asking to give a small lecture to the class on alicorns in Equestria. Starry's teacher agreed and allowed Lunar and Twilight to talk to the class, saying it would be a good lesson for the fillies and colts to learn about.

As more children began flooding the room, they all started discussing amongst each other how cool it was that an alicorn Prince was watching their class. A couple fillies came up to Lunar and said hello to him, to which he returned the favor, smiling and waving back in the process.

Eventually, Twilight showed up with Starry Nights and walked into the classroom together with her. A couple of the children started snickering and pointing at Star, making her feel uneasy and sad on the inside. Twilight noticed this and used her wing to rub Star's back. This made Star feel a bit better, but not much. As soon as Star left Twilight to sit down at her seat, the teacher, Sunny Delight, stepped in front of the class and made a very important announcement.

"Okay class," she smiled, "today we're lucky to have our very own Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Lunar Nights come in and discuss the rarity about alicorns in Equestria."

"Ooooh!" rang the students in unison.

"I want you to pay close attention to what they have to say, okay?"

"Okay, Miss Delight," answered the students.

Sunny Delight turned to Twilight and Lunar. "Whenever you're ready, you two." She smiled.

"Thank you, Miss Delight," Twilight replied, "good morning, fillies and colts."

"Good morning, Princess Twilight," the children replied.

Twilight flared her wings. "Who can tell me what these are?" She pointed to her wings.

"Ooh! Ooh!" A small, yellow unicorn was eagerly raising her hoof in the air.

"Yes?" Twilight asked, pointing to the yellow unicorn.

"Those are wings!"

"Very good!" praised Twilight.

Lunar stepped up, "Now who can tell me what this is?" He pointed to his horn.

"I know!" An orange earth pony shouted.

"Can you tell me?"

"That's a horn!"

"Very good." Lunar smiled.

"Now," continued Twilight, "What type of ponies have horns?"

"Unicorns have horns and Pegasus ponies have wings!" A green Pegasus called out.

"That's right!" Lunar smiled.

"And what type of ponies have both?" Twilight asked.

The children in the classroom laid silent. Not a single one knew the answer to it. Truth be told, they know – Starry Nights is one – but they don't know what they're called.

"Alicorns are the ponies that have both a horn and a set of wings." Twilight told the class. Just then, a pink unicorn raised their hoof. Twilight called out to her.

"Why do alicorns have both?" the unicorn asked.

"That's a good question," praised Twilight, "Alicorns have both a horn and wings because they have been born with them. When a pony is born as an alicorn, they are usually related to somepony else of royalty. It is their job to look over all the other ponies in the land and help balance everything across Equestria."

"But what about you, Princess?" Sunny Delight asked.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"Well," continued Sunny Delight, "in our books, you appear to have been written as a unicorn who became an alicorn." She turned to Lunar. "Same goes for you, Prince."

"We were indeed unicorns at birth many years ago," Lunar explained.

"But," continued Twilight, "there is another way a pony can become an alicorn, and that is through years and years of vigorous studying."

"It's harder than it sounds," Lunar added, "Princess Twilight and myself are the only two ponies to have been transformed under those circumstances."

"Can I study with you, Princess?" The pink unicorn from before asked.

"Maybe one day," smiled Twilight.

"So, children," Lunar said, "alicorns are very important to the structure of Equestria. They provide much stability to our fine kingdom."

The two royal ponies stood by in the school for the remainder of the day, watching the little ponies learn and play together. The little ones now understood more of alicorns and now appreciated Starry Nights a little bit more, albeit not much more.

* * *

By the time Star got to high school, she was performing some of her royal duties on her own. Unfortunately for her, they required more time than anything else. In her down time, she would study very much, resembling her mother very much. However, she also resembled her father in that she was emotionally unstable. Twilight and Lunar both knew this and tried their best to raise Star around that bump. Unfortunately for them, someone else knew this as well and tried using it to their advantage.

Discord, the Lord of Chaos, often spent time with Star behind her parents' backs. Star knew of the draconequus' past and knew that he could be up to no good at any point, although she never could figure out when Discord was serious and when he was joking unless it was obvious. In fact, they often spent time together. In her earlier years as a filly, Discord would show Star the wonders of magic and how it could be used. Lunar and Twilight always kept a close watch over Discord and his antics, but now that Star was a teenager, that was becoming more difficult to do.

Presently, Star was away in Ponyville conducting a couple of tasks for her father. He had sent her to town to buy him a bouquet of roses – Twilight's favorite flower – for their anniversary that was coming up soon. Lunar was unable to do this himself because his royal duties called him away for the last couple of weeks. Star obliged to the message Lunar sent her and she set out at once. Discord noticed Star leaving the castle and kept close to his friend, hoping she wouldn't notice him.

As Starry Nights entered the town square, she noticed something out of place in the far distance ahead of her. She rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things again. After her vision focused once more, she noticed Discord was standing rather close to her, causing her to move back slightly, startled by the sudden appearance of Discord. She yelped a bit, then laughed. Star liked Discord's sense of humor, even if her parents didn't.

"Hey there, old guy," Star laughed, "how've you been?"

"Oh, y'know," replied Discord, snapping his fingers. He appeared as an elderly pony in front of Starry Nights. "Hangin' in there, kiddo."

Star laughed again. "Oh, Dip-cord, you always know what to do to make me laugh."

"I know, dear Star," Discord said. He then crept closer to Star. "But it doesn't seem like your parents do, don't they?"

"What do you mean?" Star responded, slightly offended by the remark.

"Well, let's think for a second," Discord smirked, staring directly at Star now, "when was the last time you had an enjoyable experience with your parents?"

"Mom and Dad?" Star repeated.

"Yeah, they're the ones. Mommy Twilight and Daddy Lunar." Discord rolled his eyes and put air quotes around "Mommy" and "Daddy."

Star thought for quite some time. Growing up, her parents started spending less and less time with her. Twilight allowed Star to focus on her studies while Lunar continued to show distance between them both. However, these were all due to the amount of royal duties increasing. Star didn't know this yet, but threats were being made against Equestria. Twilight and Lunar opted not to let Star know and protect her, however this took Lunar away from Star and Twilight.

Discord noticed how long it was taking for Star to answer and decided to jump on the opportunity. "Not long ago, huh?"

Star continued to think, but was starting to feel more hurt inside. She wondered where it went wrong between her and her parents, namely Lunar. She hadn't spent too much time with him in the recent years due to his royal duties, but didn't know that it was only to protect her from whoever was responsible for the threats to Equestria. She turned away and started to cry. Discord, knowing Star was in the palm of his claw now, wrapped an arm around Star and comforted her. He smirked behind Star's back, although one couldn't tell that by the sound of his voice.

"There, there, Star," he oozed, "I'm sure they _love_ you. You see them _every_ day, after all."

Star turned her head to face Discord. She had even more tears falling from her eyes now. "I haven't seen Daddy in a long time!"

Discord was shocked, but he knew of Lunar's absence in Ponyville. He continued playing the puppet master to Star. "Oh say it ain't so, Star!"

Star cried, hugging Discord tightly. This made Discord quite uncomfortable. "I miss Daddy Lunar!"

"Whoa, there," Discord responded, splitting his body in two and motioning away from Star. Star fell over, but Discord picked her right back up and smiled at her. "Where is he now?"

"I-I…" Star actually didn't know where Lunar was and Discord knew this well. Staring into Discord's eyes, Star replied. "He didn't tell me, Discord…"

" _He didn't tell you!?_ " Discord wailed. " _How awful!_ "

Star felt herself cry even more. She wasn't too sure of anything anymore. Discord knew this and acted upon it, although Star spoke first.

"Does my Daddy still love me?" Star asked, hoping that it wasn't out loud.

"Oh, I'm sure he does," Discord smirked, "He wouldn't leave you without telling you if he didn't _love_ you…or he may. Who knows? He could've left Twilight and your happiness is the casualty for it. Poor Star…Starry Nights…"

Star grew even sadder now. Her heart was breaking and her emotions were spiraling out of control. As for Discord, he was pleased with himself. Knowing exactly where Lunar was at the present moment, he took Star to see him, although he took her in his way.

Star looked around and noticed they were someplace else. She saw her father standing with another pony – Princess Luna – and saw that he had a wing wrapped around her body in a way that he would do with Twilight. Star was shocked at the notion and wanted to confront Lunar about it, but the way Discord teleported them here, that was impossible.

"She can't find out about this, Luna," Lunar said in a soft voice.

"Agreed," spoke Luna, voice as soft as Lunar's, "she'll be heartbroken if she finds out about this."

Star was in shock while Discord grinned with glory. Looking at Discord, Star spoke to him. "Is Daddy…?"

"Where's the paparazzi when you need 'em!?" Discord laughed.

"Discord!" snapped Star. "This is serious!"

"I know," answered Discord, "so am I!"

"If Daddy is cheating on Mommy…" Star spoke, slowly trailing off at the end. She turned back to Lunar and felt her anger rise tremendously. "How dare he do that to Mom!"

"Why don't you go tell her?" Discord grinned. "Let Mommy Twilight know that her knight in shining armor is betraying her!"

"I can't let Mommy know that." Star said. "But I will let Daddy know not to mess with Monmy!"

"This should be interesting!" Discord smirked.

Moments afterward, Discord lifted his spell of invisibility and hid away from sight. Star started following Lunar and did not allow him to leave her sight. He followed him to a room elsewhere in the castle. Hiding behind a tall mimic tree, she spied on Lunar and Princess Luna. She was shocked when she found Lunar kissing Princess Luna, although she couldn't tell where it was.

"Good night, Luny," giggled Princess Luna.

"Good night, Lulu," Lunar chuckled, watching Princess Luna disappear into her room. He turned around and started patrolling the halls for the night while Star followed close behind.

 _How dare you cheat on Mommy, Daddy,_ Star thought as she followed Lunar outside the castle and into the courtyard.

Lunar, unaware of his daughter following him, took in some of the fresh evening air. He felt content and basked in the glory of Luna's night. He stared at the stars and smiled slightly, thinking about what he was doing. Star closely carpet behind Lunar, trying not to think about Lunar and Luna.

"Hope she's okay." Lunar said out loud after a while.

 _Huh?_ Star thought, stopping in her tracks. She stared at her father's silhouette and listened closely.

"She means more to me than anything else," continued Lunar, sighing briefly, "Not even Twilight's happiness can make things better. Luna's happiness is more than anything."

"You, _bastard_!" snapped Star.

Lunar jumped, then turned around to see Star. He went to hug her, but Star forbade. She stared at Lunar, eyeballing him deeply.

"Star!" Lunar exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Finishing you off!" Star shouted, firing off a beam of magic at her father.

Lunar jumped out of the way. "Starry Nights! What in Equestria is your problem!?"

Star ignored her father's question and blasted him away with a wave of dark magic, something her mother told her not to use. Lunar was concerned, hoping that he wasn't losing his daughter to an incompetent fight. He tried getting closer to her, but Star wouldn't allow for it. Instead, she slammed Lunar down with some powerful alicorn magic. Lunar looked into Star's eyes and noticed that he had lost her, but even he forbade from fighting his own child. When given the opportunity, Lunar flew away towards Ponyville, hoping that he could beat Star to Twilight.

Star saw Lunar fly away and immediately chased after him. "Get back here!" she screamed. "I'm not done yet!"

Star bolted into the sky and chased her father all the way to Ponyville. She nearly caught him a few times, but Lunar was smarter when it came to aerial maneuvers. He dodged Star's attempts to grab him enough times to put distance between the two of them.

"Stop running away, Father!" Star called out angrily. Her eyes flashed red. "I just want to hold you!"

Lunar flew into the castle through the bedroom window, waking Twilight in a start. Twilight looked over and saw Lunar, who had crashed into the wall and laid there in a daze. Rushing over to him, Twilight asked what was wrong.

"It's Star," Lunar alerted, "she's-" Lunar was cut off by a beam of magic slamming him back into the wall. Twilight turned and saw who it came from.

"Star!?" Twilight gasped.

"You leave Mommy alone, Father!" Star shouted at Lunar.

"Starry Nights!" Twilight yelled, casting a halting spell on her.

"Let me go, Mommy!" Star grunted. Her eyes were still flashing her abnormal red color.

Twilight would not let go of Star, despite her antics and flailing. Twilight eyed Star and was very angry with her.

"What is the matter with you, young lady?" Twilight scolded. "You don't speak to your father like that!"

"Let me go, Mom," Star called, starting to break free from Twilight's halting spell, "he's planning on hurting you!" Star broke free and attacked Lunar again. "I shall not have that!"

Lunar, opting not to fight his daughter, turned to Twilight, evading each of Star's attacks. He nodded to Twilight and they both casted a halting spell on Star. Lunar approached Star angrily, though he did not strike her.

"Why would I hurt your mother, Starry Nights?" Lunar asked. "I love your mother just as much as I love you."

Star did not respond. She grunted and looked away. Lunar spotted her abnormal red eyes and knew that Star was acting through emotions. He tried to put her at ease, but it failed.

"Don't talk to me father," Star said. She casted a spell that sent both Twilight and Lunar backwards, freeing her from their grasp. Lighting her horn, she threatened Lunar. "Next time you see us, it won't be pleasant." She teleported away before Lunar or Twilight could say anything.

Twilight fell to the ground, crying over Star and her uncontrollable emotions. Lunar comforted her as best as he could, but Twilight knew that she had lost her baby girl.

"Don't worry, Twilight," Lunar said, "I'll get her ask if it's the last thing I do."

* * *

A couple of weeks went by after Star's encounter with Lunar and Twilight. A search was called by Twilight for Star's whereabouts and was scattered throughout Equestria. Unfortunately, nobody was able to find Star, leaving Twilight and Lunar with very heavy hearts. They missed their little girl dearly and longed for her to return home.

"I hope she's okay…" called a grim Twilight. She hadn't been able to get any sleep since Star's disappearance.

"I'm sure she is," comforted Lunar. He too had been unable to get proper sleep since Star's disappearance. His coat was starting to fade as well since the threat levels were increasing in Equestria, especially during the last few days. Extra guards had been called and he was the one in charge of leading them.

"I miss our family time, Luny," Twilight admitted, "the time we had spent together while Star was growing up…"

"She was a very bright and playful foal," Lunar added, "I'd give anything to experience those moments again…"

Just then, one of the castle guards barged in on Twilight and Lunar, panting heavily. Lunar glanced over and noticed the guard and approached him.

"My apologies…for running in…like this." The guard spoke, trying to collect his breath.

"What has you coming in with no breath, Sky Patrol?" Lunar asked.

"It's the…the…"

"Out with it, private!"

Sky Patrol gained his breath just enough to utter what it was that had him feeling uneasy. "The Crystal Empire is attacking Equestria."

"Princess Cadance?" Lunar questioned.

"She would never do that." Twilight said.

"Princess Cadance has apparently been overthrown as leader by an unknown assailant." Sky Patrol advised.

"Overthrown?" repeated Lunar.

"Yes, Your Majesty," replied Sky.

"By who?" Twilight wondered.

"The new ruler is unknown as of now," admitted Sky, "we're trying to figure that out as we speak, Your Highness."

Twilight and Lunar both began wondering if any of their villainous foes could be the ones responsible for overthrowing Princess Cadance and taking over the Crystal Empire, but even their antics didn't seem natural. Sure, they had their own reasons for wanting to take over Equestria, but their way of doing it wasn't like that of taking someone out of power for it. Not even King Sombra overthrew someone when he came back all those years ago.

"Who could it be…?" Lunar wondered.

* * *

Meanwhile, sitting alone in a room by herself, Star was sulking, looking very different from the last time anyone has seen her. Surrounded in a dark room, Star was wearing dark colored armor that covered most of her face. She overlooked the army of turned ponies – most of them batponies – and smirked as she saw the progress that was being made on a certain sector. One of her generals came in and bowed to her.

"Greetings, Queen Nights," he spoke out.

"To what do I owe for this meeting, Dark Fangs?" Star asked, paying more attention to her army's progress.

"Our head general has alerted us that we are near Ponyville," replied Dark Fangs, "What shall you do once we enter the town limits?"

"Find and destroy the Prince." Star smirked. "There can be no room for a traitor!"

"The Prince?" Dark Fangs repeated, hissing sadly. "No disrespect, my Queen, but isn't that your father?"

Star growled angrily. "I have _no_ father!"

"But-"

"Are you questioning me, Dark Fangs?" Star threatened. "Need I remind you of what happened to Cadance? Do you wish for that to happen to you?"

Dark Fangs gulped. "I, uhh, n-n-no, my liege."

Star sat back in her throne. "Good. You won't like me when I'm angry."

"Noted." Dark Fangs said, trembling slightly. He had experienced Star's ferocious power once before and longed to not feel that kind of pain again.

"I shall deal with that Prince myself." Star stated. She had wanted to be the one who saw Lunar fall before her eyes.

"But, my liege, Lun-"

Star roared with anger. She struck down Dark Fangs and towered over his collapsed body. Eyes flaring red, smoking as well from anger, she yelled at Dark Fangs in the royal Canterlot voice.

" _DON'T EVER SAY THAT NAME TO ME!_ " She boomed. " _DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?_ "

Dark Fangs grew even more fearful of Queen Star. He apologized for the use of Lunar's name and finally admitted to Queen Star that she was right, even though he knew that she was wrong. Star knew what she was doing and had everything planned out in perfect order, something she inherited from her mother.

"Fear me, father," she said to nobody in particular, "for when you see me next, it shall be our last!"

Setting her destination on Ponyville, Star bolted out of her throne room, flying high above her secondary army of batponies. She flew rapidly, wanting to end her father and his antics once and for all, even if they were a mistake.

* * *

Back in Ponyville, Twilight and Lunar saw the army of batponies and ordered a town-wide evacuation. Some of the ponies managed to escape to safety via the Friendship Express, but once the attacking army seized control of the railway, everyone was trapped. Most of the remaining citizens were captured by the batponies, tied up and held as hostages. Twilight and Lunar saw this and tried helping the ponies, but soon found themselves trapped as well. They were forced to flee back into the castle, although the troops were close behind on their tail.

Star had flown into Ponyville and was pleased with herself. The batponies were doing a terrific job in capturing ponies and torturing them. She eyed the castle and blasted a hole through the crystallized wall, flying through it. Dust and debris went everywhere in the castle as it rumbled and shook violently. Star glanced around and immediately recognized that she was in the east wing of the castle, one of the main halls to the throne room. She flew down the hallway and blasted away some pillars that were in her way.

"STOP!" Shouted a few guards, throwing their spears at Star.

Star smirked, dodging the spears with ease. She turned and summoned a few of her batpony soldiers and ordered them to destroy the guards.

"At your wish, Queen," one of them replied.

"You shall not pass!" The castle guard declared, although he was quickly surrounded and captured by Star's batpony soldiers.

Star was delighted by her batponies and their abilities to overpower almost any pony. She flew away down the bedroom hall and blasted through the door, eyeing Lunar and Twilight. She smiled, eyes flashing red and coat getting darker. Lunar eyed Star and recognized her almost immediately. He stepped up in front of Twilight, protecting her from Star.

"Starry Nights," Lunar said heavily, "figures it would be you."

"Father," Star responded. She exchanged looks between Lunar and Twilight. "I see mother still accepts you for who you are. But will she really accept you for who you really are?"

"Star," Lunar continued, "Why are you doing this?"

"Silence, father!" Star commanded. Two batpony generals came in behind Star and slowly approached her sides. "You do not have authority to speak to us."

"I am your father, Star," Lunar responded, "and I will talk to you how I want to, when I want to."

"Silence, Prince!" Dark Fangs growled. "Queen Star won't be spoken to like that!" He struck down Lunar in front of Twilight.

Twilight snapped. "Starry Nights! Stand down! How dare you have somepony beat your father!"

Star smirked slyly. "Oh come now, mother. Let's be realistic for a moment." She pointed to Lunar. "We both know he's too old for this. Why not put the traitor out of his misery?"

Twilight was appalled. "Are-Why would you say such a thing!? That's your _father,_ Star!"

"I have no father, mother," she eyed Lunar, "not anymore."

Lunar looked into Star's eyes and was greeted to another punch from Dark Fangs.

Dark Fangs laughed. "Pitiful, weak Prince."

Star approached the fallen prince, towering over his body greatly. She stared at him with her glowing red eyes and smiled evilly at him.

"All good things must come to an end," Star told him.

Lunar, coughing, looked at Star. He saw Dark Fangs winding up for another pummeling, but Star stopped him and told him to watch Twilight.

"As you wish, my liege." Dark Fangs bowed, transitioning from Lunar to Twilight.

"Now, where were we…?" Star chuckled darkly, casting a powerful spell in her horn.

Lunar, blurry vision and all, looked at the spell being casted, then shifted his sight down towards her eyes. He mumbled out words, but Star had trouble hearing him.

She stared down at him, continuing to charge up her spell. "Sorry, father…but this is your end."

Lunar, completely out of breath and beaten, mouthed out 'I'm sorry' to Star. She turned away and used all power to charge up the spell. Twilight, freeing herself from Dark Fangs' custody, tackled Star just in time and caused her to miss Lunar, saving his life. Star was outraged and angrily looked at Twilight. Slamming her hooves on the ground with each step she took, Star approached Twilight. Each step she took, the ground below her rumbled and cracked slightly around her hoof. Finally reaching Twilight, Star spoke out against her.

"Oh, mother," Star glared, "I always thought you were the smart one…"

"I am smart," defended Twilight, "smarter than you believe, Star."

"You claim that you're smart," continued Star, "yet you're too ignorant to notice a traitor in front of your eyes."

"I'm not ignorant and I do see a traitor," Twilight said. She pointed to Star, "It's you."

Star laughed. She wiped a tear from her eye and sighed contently. "Oh, mother…you're so naïve…"

Twilight raised her guard, preparing for a surprise attack from Star. Star figured this and toyed with Twilight a bit. She paced around Twilight maliciously, eyeing her the whole time. Twilight felt nervous, not knowing what Star was intending on doing.

"Mother dear," Star grimaced, "Why do you fail to see father's poor choices? You know what he did, so why do you deny it?"

"Because I love your father, Star," Twilight replied, "and you should too!"

"Oh, stop it!" Star declared, slamming her hoof into the ground. "You know what he did and stand by his side! What in the hell is wrong with you?"

"Watch your mouth, young lady!" Twilight scolded.

"Don't talk to the Queen like that, peasant!" Star's other general, Phantom Menace, shouted. He approached Twilight in an attempt to strike her down, but Star stopped him.

"No," she said, "it's okay." She turned back to Twilight, smiling. "It'll be the last time we speak in my world."

"Young lady," Twilight said, trembling a bit from the buildup of hello fear, "it is not your world. I will do everything in my power to stop you."

"Then that shouldn't take long," Star insulted.

"And why's that?" Twilight asked.

"Because, mother," continued Star, "I know all your tricks."

"So what does that have to do with anything?" Twilight said.

"I know what you'll do, when you'll do it, and how you'll do it," Star uttered, laughing coldly, "But you not know how, when, or what I'll do."

"You might be surprised, Star," Twilight answered, "it takes a lot more than brains to defeat your enemy."

"Au contraire, mother," Star smirked, "brains and brawn will overcome you, and the one who will defeat you…" she stopped to stand right in front of Twilight, "…is standing right in front of you."

"You know that I will beat you, Star," Twilight responded, "I know spells that you don't know."

"Oh," Star said, cocking an eyebrow, "and what spells are that? That pathetic, little halting spell, hmm? News flash, mother, I know spells you know nothing about."

"Don't push it, Star," Twilight told her, "I've seen plenty of villains, foes, and monsters and know how to overcome any challenge."

"So overcome this one, mother," Star replied, turning to face Twilight.

Star approached Twilight, stopping a couple of inches away from her face. She charged up a powerful spell quickly and unleashed it on Twilight. Twilight, however, knew that Star was trying to attack her quickly and in a secretive matter, so she teleported herself out of harm's way just as Star unleashed her power. This angered Star, but Twilight wouldn't care.

"I'm not going to fight you, Starry Nights…" Twilight sighed. "You're my daughter and I don't want to hurt you."

"Oh how convenient," Star smirked, "Because I will _destroy_ you!"

Aided by her blinding power, Star tried blasting Twilight again, missing all of her shots to her. The guards Star brought tried helping, but Star ordered them to stand down, telling them she wanted to do this herself. Obeying her orders, they stood by and watched as Star was failing to destroy the ponies she wanted to get rid of.

Battered and tired on the other side of the room, Lunar finally found some strength to stand up. He saw Star trying to attack Twilight and stumbled over to them, standing between them both. He turned to Star, coughing and vision getting even blurrier.

"How nice," smirked Star, "Father wants to die first."

"Stop this, Star," coughed Lunar. He tried approaching Star, but lost his balance from the blurred vision, tripping over in front of her.

"Allow me, father," Star continued, slamming her front hooves onto the ground in front of Lunar. She started charging up her dark magic, hoping it would end Lunar.

Lunar looked at Star, shutting his eyes. "I'm sorry…"

Using the last of his strength, Lunar kicked Star away with his back hooves. He turned to Twilight, who had jumped on the opportunity and pushed Star back to the wall, aiming her horn directly at her neck. Star's generals acted on the situation and made Lunar pay for his actions, beating him even more. Star laughed, then acknowledged her mother.

"What now, mother dear?" she teased. "You can deal with me and lose the one you love, or you can help him and leave me wide open for attack…tick tock, mommy, you don't have a lot of time."

Twilight frantically shifted her look between Star and Lunar, not knowing what to do. The guilt of Lunar being beaten was eating at Twilight, while the thought of letting Star go unguarded for a few seconds loomed in her head as well. Gritting her teeth, Twilight made her decision.

"Stop!" she yelled, turning away from Star to take care of the generals beating Lunar.

Star smirked slyly. "Just as I thought."

Twilight blasted the two generals off of Lunar and sent them flying to the other side of the room. The spell she casted on them had stopped them in their tracks and stopped their movements; her halting spell. Twilight ran over to Lunar and tried helping him up, but wasn't sure if he was still breathing. She started crying over Lunar's body, burying her face in his chest. Star was pleased with herself and towered over her mother.

"Why did you do this?" cried Twilight. "Wh-what happened…to our family…?"

"Father became a traitor and you stood by him." Star replied. "Now that he's out of the picture, there's nothing stopping me from taking over this kingdom."

"Nothing but me!" Twilight screamed at Star. Out of anger, Twilight struck Star down, then stopped and assessed what she just did; she hit her own daughter.

Star flew to the opposite side of the room and collided with the wall. She brushed off her pain as if it were nothing and gazed at Twilight, whom was frozen from the realization of hitting her only child. Star shook her head, then charged at Twilight, pointing her horn at Twilight's neck, trying to pierce and tear into it. Twilight saw Star charging at her and fell apart emotionally.

"Do it…" She told Star.

This got Star to stop in her tracks. "What did you say?"

Twilight wiped a tear from her eye and repeated herself to Star. "Do it. Kill me…"

Star was very confused. "Kill you? You're joking, right mother?"

"Finish me off," Twilight requested, looking Star in her smoky red eyes, "I don't deserve to live after failing Lunar and striking you down."

"Humph," grunted Star, "now she wants to die."

"Yes!"

Star smirked. "Now things will get interesting." She turned to her generals and freed them from Twilight's halting spell from earlier. "Dark Fangs, Phantom Menace!"

The two generals bowed in front of Star graciously. "What is it, Your Highness?"

"Take these two pitiful ponies to the dungeon," Star commanded, "rather than giving them a quick death, it'll be a slow, battering, destructive death."

"As you wish, my liege," the two replied. They pulled Twilight and Lunar away towards the nearest dungeon.

Twilight, shocked at what Star was now doing, begged for her death, but Star wouldn't allow it.

"It'll come in due time, mother," laughed Star as she sat on Twilight's throne.

Twilight's heart sunk even further as she and Lunar were dragged out of their former throne room.

* * *

Inside their own dungeons, Twilight had sunk to a new low and laid down on the ground. She stared at Lunar's body and started crying, telling herself that she failed greatly. She felt as if she was responsible for Lunar's current predicament and for Star's corruption, but she didn't know what to do. She laid on the ground, hooves worn out and mane messed up, wanting so desperately to die. However, even her request for death had been declined.

A few moments of eerie silence fell amongst the two ponies. Nothing was said and silence was broken by the occasional sniffling. Twilight had never felt this powerless before, not even when she defeated Tirek the first time. She had given up on herself and all it took was the power of another alicorn to destroy Twilight's spirit.

"What am I going to do…?" Twilight softly spoke, her voice echoing slightly in the dungeon cell. No one had responded to Twilight, only silence. She sighed, then looked over to Lunar. "I'm sorry, Lunar…this never should've happened…"

She rested her head on Lunar's chest and felt worse than ever. Twilight rested her head until she was startled by a slight "thump" from Lunar's chest. She pulled her head back, then looked at Lunar.

"L-Lunar…?" Twilight stammered. "Are you there…?"

* * *

Inside the virtual world, Lunar was meandering about, trying to find his way. It was weird for him mainly because it was different to him. Normally, he knows when he is in the dream world, but he couldn't comprehend where he was at the current moment.

"Hello?" He called out, but no one answered.

Lunar continued wandering around until he started to hear some hoofsteps echoing around him. He stopped in his tracks and looked around, seeing nothing but the pit of darkness he was encased in.

"Who's there?" He asked.

"Relax, Prince," called a voice from elsewhere in the void, "We are not foes."

"Show yourself, please," Lunar responded, still unsure if this unknown being was telling the truth.

"As you wish, Prince," the voice spoke back.

The hoofsteps then started getting louder and closer to Lunar's position. Emerging from the shadowy darkness came Princess Luna, but Lunar was confused even more.

"Princess Luna?" Lunar called. "What are you doing here? Where am I?"

"Your mind is in a temporary state of limbo," Princess Luna alerted.

"What does that mean?" asked Lunar.

"It means that you're neither living nor dead, Lunar," Luna answered, "But you're not exactly in purgatory either."

"So…?"

"It's as if you're in a coma," Princess Luna explained.

"A coma?" Lunar repeated. His heart sank when he heard that.

"Be no afraid, my pony," continued Luna, "with my power, it will only be temporary."

"You can influence comas?" Lunar questioned.

"Comas are long slumbers if you think about them, Lunar," Luna stated, "But that's beside the point. I wish to discuss Starry Nights with you."

"Star…"

"It seems as if she's gone rogue and is falling under the path we both once stepped hoof on." Luna said. "We shan't let that happen to her."

"I know, Luna," Lunar acknowledged, "and I know we need to fix this before things get too out of hoof, but I've tried everything to help make this right…nothing seems to work."

"Have you explained to her what can happen to a fully corrupt pony?" Luna asked. "Have you told her our pasts?"

"She learned about them in school at a young age." Lunar said.

"Why not tell her again?" Luna suggested. "Young ponies often forget about the things they learn and need to be reminded of them."

"I'll try, Luna," Lunar told her, "But what if it doesn't work?"

"Then…" Luna paused and looked away. "We both know what must be done…"

Lunar gulped, then promised to make things right. Luna nodded, then disappeared back into the dark void. Lunar called out to Luna, thanking her for her help, but was cut off by some new voices.

" _Lunar? Are you there?_ "

* * *

In the dungeon, Twilight rested her head back on Lunar's chest once more. She silently cried as she was fearing the worst. Suddenly, Lunar began twitching his front right hoof, but Twilight didn't notice this. When he started softly rubbing Twilight's wing, Twilight looked into Lunar's eyes, hoping that he was still with her.

"L-Lunar?"

"…I…I'm here…Twily…"

"Lunar!" Twilight smiled, crying happily. She hugged Lunar softly, tending to his wounds as well.

"We…we need…"

"Take it easy, Lunar," Twilight said, "you're badly injured…"

"Tell…Star…my past…"

"Your past?" Twilight repeated. "What for?"

"Luna's…past…corr…upted…" Lunar coughed. He was feeling very weak.

"But how can we get out of here?" Twilight asked. "They stole my magic from me while they dragged me here."

Lunar, using the last bit of his strength, teleported Twilight just outside of the dungeon. He fell over from exhaustion and hoped that Twilight would pass on the message to Star of both his past and Luna's past.

Outside the iron bars now, Twilight promised Lunar she would do her best to try to save Star. She looked to her right and noticed the generals Star had sent were looking away at the current moment. Turning the other way, she started leaving in a stealth manner. Unfortunately for Twilight, when she turned the corner out of the dungeons, there, waiting for her, were two larger guards.

" _HEY!_ "

Acting quickly, Twilight sprinted away down a different hallway in her castle. The guard that saw Twilight, Bat Country, alerted Star right away of Twilight's escape. He flew directly to Star's newest throne room, knowing she wouldn't be too happy with Twilight's escape.

"Your Highness," Bat Country called, bowing to Star, "there's an emergency!"

"What is the emergency?" Star snobbishly asked.

"Twilight Sparkle," he continued, "she's escaped!"

" _WHAT!?_ How is that possible!?"

"She's on her way here now!" Bat Country concluded.

"So if it's a fight you want mother," Star growled, using her magic to strengthen her abilities, "it's a fight you'll get!"

She dismissed Bat Country from her sight and waited for Twilight in secret, hiding herself from all possible locations to the visible eye.

Evading most of the guards, Twilight eventually flew out of her castle and up towards her throne room. Star's generals followed Twilight out of the castle and tried chasing her down in the air, but Twilight managed to outsmart Star's guards, easily evading them in the air. She set her target on her throne room and busted into it, slowly walking to the center of it. She was alarmed, not seeing Star anywhere in the room.

"Well, well, well," Star spoke from an unknown location, "look at who we have here…"

"Come out, Star," Twilight called, "I know you're here."

"Oh, mother," continued Star, "kudos to your ability to escape my generals…but this is where it all ends."

"Star," Twilight said, ignoring Star's words, "it doesn't have to be like this…you're becoming like your father and Princess Luna: corrupted."

"Corrupted?" Star growled. "I am not like father and Luna. They became corrupted because of their weak willpower! I have strong willpower and will not fall!"

"But you are," protested Twilight, "faster than you may or may not think you are!"

"Enough!" shouted Star. "I am not like those two weak ponies! I am strong! I've taken over the Crystal Empire, thrown Cadance into an undisclosed prison, and took over Ponyville! Father couldn't do that, nor Luna!"

"Star…"

"Stop, mother," Star snarled, "You won't say another word."

"I'm only trying to-"

"I don't care what you're trying to do, peasant!" snapped Star. "You've been standing in my way one too many times! Now it's my turn to lead! And that'll happen now!"

Staying in her hiding spot, Star fired a powerful ball of magic towards Twilight. Twilight stood still as she was unaware of the attack, but was alerted of it when a cloud of smoke appeared behind her. Twilight stood her ground, waiting for a possible physical attack from Star, but one never came.

Star knew how Twilight was feeling and decided to toy with her emotions. She flew around above the cloud of smoke, creating the illusion that she was everywhere at the same time.

"How does it feel, mother," Star began, "to know that…that everypony you once loved and cared for is now…now just a distant memory, to know that they've abandoned you and left you for naught?"

"I haven't been abandoned by them," Twilight answered, "Show yourself!"

"If they haven't abandoned you," continued Star, "Where are they now? Where's Rarity? Where's Fluttershy? Applejack? Rainbow Dash? Pinkie Pie? Spike? How about Shining Armor?"

Twilight gulped. She never once spoke of her original friends' names to Star and they didn't teach their names in any school in Equestria – just six ponies bearing the power of the Elements of Harmony.

"Where's Twilight Velvet?" Star smirked, telling Twilight her mother's name. "Where's Night Light?"

Twilight was growing even more nervous. She hadn't heard those names in centuries and wondered how Star knew about them.

"How about Lunar?" Star teased. "How's he doing?"

Twilight was starting to get annoyed. "Stop it, Star!"

"What's the matter?" Star smirked. "Feeling alone?"

"Star," Twilight said, "I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work."

"Who says I'm trying to do anything, mother dear?" Star questioned. She used her magic to show flashbacks to Twilight via holographic projections in the smoke. She showed her when Twilight met her friends originally. "Ring a bell?"

Twilight stared at the projection as it played her first moments with her original friends many years ago. She started to break down internally, but didn't show anything on the external side.

"Oh," continued Star, "What about this?" Star changed scenes about and showed Twilight her coronation from when she first became an alicorn. Again, her friends and family were shown in the flashback.

"Stop, Star," Twilight coughed.

"This must surely be familiar to you," Star laughed, showing Twilight when she married Lunar.

Twilight started to shed some tears, but fought back from crying, although it was proving to be tough.

"This one is my favorite," Star smirked, showing Twilight the time she had to imprison Lunar in the moon.

Twilight's emotions were shattering as she was being shown her past memories over and over again. She felt herself losing her grip over her emotions as she saw the same scenes again and again.

"Where are your friends now, Twilight?" Star asked, emerging through the cloud of smoke with a sinister smile on her face.

Twilight felt her heart shatter. "They've been dead since before you were born."

"Leaving poor old Twilight lost and alone." Star continued, pacing around Twilight.

"I…I have Lunar…" Twilight protested.

"Look how well he's been recently, Twilight." Star pointed out.

"Because of what you did, Star!" accused Twilight.

"Because of what _he_ did, Twilight," Star said, "He brought it upon himself."

"You put him in that predicament!" Twilight snapped, "It's your fault."

"Temper, temper, Twilight," Star toyed, knowing that Twilight was slowly landing in the center of her hoof, "nopony likes an angry princess."

"Stop, Star!" Twilight yelled. "As your mother, I'm telling you to stop!"

"Or what?" Star laughed. "What are you gonna do about it? I've got everything and you've got _nothing_!"

"Star, I swear to Celestia if you don't stop-"

"What was that?" teased Star. "I couldn't hear you."

" _STARRY NIGHTS_!" Twilight roared, voice echoing throughout the room. She had finally snapped and lost all her patience. Star knew that she was now in control of Twilight and started influencing her opinions into Twilight's mind via telekinesis and magic.

"Mother dear," Star said after a couple of moments, "Tell me…what…what do you think of Equestria?"

Twilight grunted, trying to fight Star's attempt of influencing her mind. She was losing the battle, falling under Star's control, albeit it was a very slow process. When Twilight finally stopped fighting Star's urge for control, she spoke to her.

"What kind of question is that?" Twilight asked.

"What do you think of father?"

"Father?" asked Twilight.

"Lunar."

"Forget about Lunar," murmured Twilight, "He means nothing to me now." Twilight's sense of thought was now alarming herself. Deep down, she knew she loved Lunar. But under Star's control, that was not the case.

Star had manipulated Twilight with her magic to the point where she no longer needed to use it to control her. Twilight's sense of thought and rationing was lost, thanks to Star and Star knew this well. Pacing around Twilight, Star looked her over. She was rather displeased with how Twilight was displayed currently and used her magic to change Twilight's appearance.

"What are you doing?" Twilight growled.

"Fixing your appearance," Star answered, "You look hideous."

Within minutes, Twilight now had a darker colored mane and tail. Star conjured up a black and red cape for Twilight and placed it over her back and through her wings. Twilight now looked more like a villain than ever before. When Star finished Twilight's transformation, she overlooked Twilight again and was pleased. After that, Star told Twilight her plan and what would happen next.

"In order to claim my kingdom for myself," Star smirked, "We need to destroy Canterlot and watch them fall."

* * *

Meanwhile in Canterlot, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia were both well aware of Princess Cadance's disappearance and the fall of the Crystal Empire. They had prepared themselves for an attack, we're one to happen on Canterlot soil. As more news reached the princesses, it became more imperative for them to prepare for the worst. They now found out about the fall of Ponyville and the disappearance of Prince Lunar, despite Princess Luna seeing him in the dream world.

As the guards started securing a perimeter around Canterlot, Princess Celestia grew more worried. She had a hunch as to who might be behind Princess Cadance's and Prince Lunar's disappearance, but wasn't too sure if her hunch was right. Princess Luna looked over and noticed the worried look in her older sister's eyes and tried confronting her about it.

"Everything will be okay, sister," Luna said, "there's no need to worry about Princess Cadance and Prince Lunar…they'll turn up before we know it."

"It's not that, Luna," replied Celestia, "it's just that I'm worried about who may be behind the attacks and y he disappearances…first Princess Cadance and now Prince Lunar…what'll happen next?"

"We'll get to the bottom of this at once." Luna assured, although she wasn't tto sure if they could.

 _If Ponyville fell,_ Celestia thought, _there's no telling what can happen to the rest of Equestria…_

Discord appeared thereafter and saw Celestia and her worried face. Toying with her emotions, he stepped forward and spoke to her about them.

"Funny how one little push can trigger an entire series of events," he said, smirking, "wouldn't you say so?"

Both Celestia and Luna weren't in the mood for Discord's fun and games.

"What are you doing here, Discord?" Celestia asked.

"Can't a draconequus visit his two favorite ponies?" Discord joked.

"This isn't funny, Discord," Luna said.

"Who said it was?" Discord replied, peering his face a few inches away from Luna's.

"Not now, Discord…" Celestia sighed. "We need to prepare."

"Prepare?" Discord repeated. He smiled and busted out laughing. "Prepare for trouble and make it double!"

"Discord," Luna sighed, "This is a serious matter. Joking around is of the utmost disrespect right now."

"Starry Nights," Discord said, "Does that name sound familiar?"

"Princess Starry Nights?" Luna repeated.

"What about her?" Celestia added.

"You might find that some surprises aren't worth waiting for." Discord said, snapping his fingers and disappearing from the room in a ball of smoke.

Celestia and Luna were baffled and confused.

"What do you think he meant by that, sister?" asked Luna.

"Don't worry about him." Celestia responded. "He's just trying to get inside our heads."

Little did they know that Discord's words were words of wisdom and warning. Celestia and Luna did not know that it was Starry Nights that was behind the attacks in Equestria; not yet, anyway.

* * *

Some time later, preparation had been completed. For the most part, Canterlot was impenetrable from the ground. The same could not be said for the skies since most guards were unicorn guards and, since Shining Armor had long since passed, nobody but Twilight knew the protection spell that he once knew, and since Twilight was unresponsive at the moment, the skies were partially left vulnerable for attack, and Star assumed this. She initiated an aerial assault and was in pursuit towards Canterlot with Twilight flying as her right-winger pony. She was confident that she could overthrow Celestia and Luna and eagerly awaited to add Canterlot to her vastly growing empire.

As the batpony army reached Canterlot air space, they were greeted to Pegasus guards and a few blasts of magic from the unicorn guards on the ground. Most of the batponies double teamed the Pegasus guards and a few of them struck the unicorns on the ground. Within moments, aided by Star's magic spells, the batponies overtook the skies and started their assault on Canterlot citizens.

Inside the castle, Luna and Celestia were watching the attacks and ordered all citizens to evacuate Canterlot immediately, sounding an alarm throughout the city. It came much too late as many of the citizens were already captured by the batpony army and currently being held as hostages or being tortured right now. As Celestia gazed down at the terrifying events, she felt something snap inside of her. She flared her wings and opened the window. Luna saw this and called out to her older sister.

"Celestia!" Luna called. "What are you doing?"

"I cannot sit here and watch as Canterlot is being attacked and innocent ponies are being injured." Celestia responded. She flew out the window with Luna following closely behind her.

"What do you intend to do?" Luna asked.

"I'm going to find out who is responsible for this…" Celestia answered.

"And then what?"

Celestia didn't answer Luna's second question as she flew even faster into the skies. She looked over the horizon and saw the army of batponies approaching her. Focusing on the center of the army, she saw two ponies that stood out from the rest of the army.

Star glanced at the sky ahead of her and saw who was approaching her. She ordered her army to come to a halt and stopped in the air, hovering slightly. Celestia stopped about seventy yards away from Star and noticed who she was now.

"Starry Nights!" She called. "You're responsible for this?"

"So what?" Star replied. "You cannot stop us now. Just surrender now and we'll go easy on you."

"Starry Nights," Celestia said, "I am a ruler of Equestria, and it is my job to keep and protect the ponies all throughout it. I will never give up to you."

"Well look at the good job you're doing," teased Star, "the ponies of my Crystal Empire are slaves, digging up crystals for my new castle. The ponies in my Ponyville are now being forced to work on destroying the Ever free Forest, the place for my new castle. Where was the high and mighty pony for them when they needed it most, hmm? So much for being a princess…that's why I am queen of my Equestria!"

"Starry Nights," Celestia continued, "I am ordering you to stand down now or risk the consequences."

"There won't be any consequences, peasant!" Star snapped, rushing to Celestia and attacking her.

Celestia managed to dodge Star and fired back at her, striking her between her wings. Star lost patience and ordered her army to attack Celestia and Luna. Obeying, the batpony army flew straight for Celestia and immediately surrounded her. Star flew up from below and slammed Celestia between her wings. As for Twilight, she tried attacking Luna but before she reached her, Luna had teleported out of the sky and was unable to be found. She decided to focus her attention on Celestia and make her pay. She slammed Celestia between her wings and blasted her down to the ground with her magic. Celestia cried out in pain as she slammed into the ground, forming a cloud of dirt and dust around her body. Star and Twilight followed Celestia and towered over her collapsed body.

"You too, Twilight?" Celestia coughed.

"Twilight is under my control now," Star said, "and you will soon be as well."

"Why are you doing this?" Celestia asked, coughing again.

"Because," Star responded.

"Because why?"

Discord appeared next to Star and Twilight, smirking evilly at Celestia. "Because madness, like you know, is like gravity: all it takes is a little push!"

"Discord!" Celestia gasped. "I should've known it was you…"

"And there's more where that came from once I take back what's rightfully mine!" Discord laughed, trampling Celestia into the ground.

Star and Twilight both laughed as Discord grounded Celestia. For these three, victory was nearing completion and it looked as if nothing else could stop them.

* * *

Elsewhere in Equestria, Princess Luna reappeared in a dark field by herself. Ponies hardly ever roamed around these parts as they were very dangerous. These were parts where changelings loved to cause trouble.

It was here that Luna was hoping she would find a few changelings. She had a plan, but she needed their help first. After spotting a few changelings that were passing by, Luna called out to them, hoping they would respond.

"Hey!" She called.

One of the changelings heard the call and looked back, spotting Princess Luna.

"Pony…" the changeling said, redirecting course towards Princess Luna.

 _Perfect._ Luna thought to herself.

Within seconds, the other changelings spotted Luna and dove from the sky towards her. They surrounded Luna and demanded that she surrender herself to Queen Chrysalis.

"I surrender." Luna said, knowing very well that she could overpower these changelings easily. She needed to see Queen Chrysalis in order to put her plan into action anyway.

"Very well," the lead changeling said, "now move!"

The group of changelings led Luna away towards the Changeling Republic to Queen Chrysalis.

 _All or nothing now…_ Luna told herself as she was taken away.

* * *

Inside the dark and stormy Changeling Republic, Princess Luna was receiving mixed emotions from all the changelings she passed by. They were either shocked at how an alicorn such as Luna could be captured or angered by the presence of an alicorn in their home. As they continued down a main pathway, the changelings that "captured" Luna ordered her to move quicker. They tried revoking Luna's crown from her, but were too short to reach it and eventually gave up on that idea.

As the center castle neared, Luna started getting feelings of doubt. She wondered what would happen if Chrysalis denied her help. She wondered what would happen if Chrysalis really did capture her and forced her to work as a slave. She even wondered what would happen if all of Equestria fell to the likes of Star and Twilight.

The changelings pushed Luna inside the castle and led her down a main hallway to some guards. It was dark and cold inside the castle, the perfect temperatures to please these dreadful changelings. Once the escorting changelings reached the end of the hallway, they handed Luna over towards castle guards, whom were just as short as the other changelings, when compared to Luna.

"We come bearing a gift for the queen." The lead changeling said.

"An alicorn…" the guard replied, looking over Luna from top to bottom. "How delicious."

"She will bring much happiness to the queen." The lead changeling smiled.

"Very good work, cadet," the guard responded, "you're relieved. We'll take it from here."

The three changelings saluted the guards then walked away in formation. The guards then took control and started escorting Luna to Chrysalis. These guards, however, were more demanding than the three changelings from before. They shoved Luna down each hallway and pushed her up the staircases.

"Stop pushing." Luna said, glaring at the guard walking behind her.

"Quiet, prisoner!" The guard responded, threatening the use of force on Luna.

Luna stopped talking as the guards led her down another hallway. As they walked down this hallway, Luna started feeling pain in her head. She rubbed the area, but this only made it worse. After that, she knew the source of her pain: it was Celestia trying to tell her something.

 _What's the matter, sister?_ Luna silently responded back.

She tried listening in for an answer from Celestia, but one never arrived. Soon after, Luna was shoved into the throne room in the changeling castle. It was dark and cold, even darker and colder than it was in the halls. Luna shivered a little bit, trying to warm her body up, but it was little good. The guards surrounded Luna, lining up with two of them on her left side and one on her right. They bowed down and spoke to the darkness.

"Your Highness," the head guard spoke, "We come bearing a gift to you."

The room was completely silent. Luna waited for an answer, but one didn't come; not quickly at least. After a few minutes of silence, a voice finally spoke from the darkness.

"A gift? For me…?"

"Yes, Your Highness," the guard continued, turning to Luna, "and I think you'll like this one."

Candles started burning around the room, poorly lighting it all around. It was much to see clearly, but it was better than the darkness. Hooves could be heard as someone was walking towards the center of the room, but still, nobody could see. The voice spoke louder than before and was generally pleased.

"I see…I see an elegant flowing mane…could this be who I think it is…?"

"It's been a while, Chrysalis," Luna smiled, "I see you're doing well."

"Oh, Luna," smirked Chrysalis, revealing herself from the darkness and looking down towards Luna, "it's always a joy to see a pony who has given up to us." She turned to her guards. "You may leave…I'll take care of this one…hehe…"

The guards, suspecting a grand punishment for Luna, obliged to Chrysalis' comments and left the room abruptly, leaving Luna alone with Chrysalis. Chrysalis towered over Luna and smirked delightfully at her. Luna smirked in response as well. Chrysalis and Luna secretly had a close bond over the years and always liked each other's company, even if it were for a short while. Speaking lowly, hoping that nobody else would hear them, Luna asked Chrysalis for her assistance.

"With what?" Chrysalis responded.

"There is terror ahoof in Equestria." Luna explained.

"Again?"

"Again," continued Luna, "and the one responsible has captured and taken over most of Equestria as well and has my sister held hostage…"

"Who is responsible for that?" Chrysalis wondered. "The only one who can take over Equestria is myself."

Luna chuckled silently. "Have you heard of Starry Nights?"

"The alicorn baby Princess of Twilight and Lunar?" Chrysalis asked.

"She's the one who is responsible for the takeover." Luna confirmed.

"How did she overpower Celestia…?" Chrysalis asked. "She defeated me and I'm stronger then most."

"She's the daughter of Twilight Sparkle," Luna said, "Starry Nights' gift for magic must have descended from her."

"Any idea as to what we can do to help?" Chrysalis replied.

"Starry Nights has an army of batponies aiding her attack and assault," Luna advised, "and we need somepony to help aid a defensive assault on them. Starry Nights' attacks have all been surprise attacks, even though we knew they were coming."

"If you knew they were coming," Chrysalis thought, "Then why did you get captured?"

"Her forces simply overpowered ours and we didn't have any time to react," Luna answered, "by the time we could react, most of our forces were already captured and we were forced to surrender."

"Sounds to me like she knows how to command an army," praised Chrysalis, "I like her."

"Not helping…" Luna sternly responded.

"Right," Chrysalis continued, "so you want my changelings to help lead an army against her batponies?"

"Yes." Luna nodded. "We're desperate for anything at this point."

* * *

Back in Canterlot, Star had just thrown Celestia into one of the old, raggedy dungeon cells in the castle. They hadn't been touched for a long time and gave off plenty of cold feelings. Star smirked as she watched Celestia's body roll against the ground and slammed the door shut, leaving Celestia alone to herself. Her horn had an anti-magic spell casted on it and her wings were poorly damaged. Star was pleased with herself and left Celestia to rot in her prison. Discord soon appeared after and started teasing Celestia.

"Oh, look at me," He started, prancing around gaily, "I'm Princess Celestia. I'm the ruler of Equestria! Nothing can defeat me!"

Celestia rolled her eyes. "Do you know who is missing?"

"Who?"

"You fail to notice something so obvious…" Celestia answered. She refused to speak to Discord thereafter.

"Who's missing?" Discord wondered.

* * *

"I'll lead my army of changelings in to Canterlot. Chances are, she's still there and is looking for you as we speak."

"Hopefully, and once we get there, we need to focus our attack on pony-to-changeling coverage, a few aimed at Starry Nights and Twilight Sparkle."

Chrysalis gazed over her balcony. She was surrounded by hundreds, possibly thousands of changelings below her. She cleared her throat and spoke out to them.

"My little changelings," Chrysalis said, "We are going to deploy out and defend our friends' home territory! It is a place we once invaded ourselves, I know, but this time it is for defense. Not all of you agree with the mutual pact signed recently between myself and Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, but we must help them in their time of need. We'll be going against fearsome batponies and they are powerful foes, but us changelings are more powerful than they will ever be!"

The large crowd of changelings roared with anticipation and were ready to help their Queen with whatever she needed. They set out for Canterlot, hoping they would overthrow Starry Nights and her army of despicable batponies.

* * *

Back in Canterlot, Star was making her preparations to leave and head back to the Ever free Forest to watch the progress of her newest castle. She was just about to leave when Twilight spoke up, whom was still under Star's control.

"Don't you find it odd?" Twilight asked.

"Odd?" Star repeated, snarling at the remark. "What's so odd about mass destruction and the overthrowing of pitiful princesses?"

"Well that's just it," said Twilight, "How did you end that?"

"What?"

"How did you end that question?"

"Princesses." Star answered.

"But there's only one in that dungeon." Twilight pointed out. "Where's Luna?"

"Cadance is in the Crystal dungeons, Father is in Ponyville dungeons, Celestia is in Canterlot…"

"But where is Luna?" protested Twilight.

Star started growing nervous. She didn't take count of Princess Luna. Playing off her fear of the unknown, she answered Twilight harshly.

"Who cares where she is? She ran away probably like the weak little pony she is."

"Whatever you say…" Twilight replied, rolling her eyes.

* * *

"Over there."

Luna pointed out to Canterlot and saw a number of batponies flying through the air, patrolling the skies. The batponies were facing away from Luna, Chrysalis, and the changelings, so they had the element of surprise on their side. Nodding, Luna and Chrysalis aided the attack, flying past the two batponies. The batponies then started rushing Luna and Chrysalis, but were soon surrounded by the changeling army. The changelings showed no mercy to the batponies, pummeling them to a pulp.

Chrysalis then aided her changelings towards the castle, prompting them to attack at will. The changelings obeyed, blasting through the badly damaged walls. They were immediately overtaking all the incoming batponies that were responding to the attacks. However, something troubled Luna and that was the fact that Star was nowhere to be seen.

As the army invaded the castle even further, more guards came under center and were either captured or defeated by the army of swarming changelings. Luna started wondering where Celestia was kept and where Twilight and Star were. She hadn't seen them and, were Luna on the opposite end of this assault, she would've shown up by now.

Luna and Chrysalis watched as the changeling army captured the remaining guards and were pleased when others started rushing away and retreating. Looking elsewhere, Luna saw a dark colored hoof rounding a corner and running straight for them. This pony had poised for an attack on the changelings, firing strong beams of magic towards them.

"Starry Nights!" exclaimed Luna.

"I figured you would rear your ugly head here again!" Star shouted, destroying some nearby changelings with her powerful magic. "But I never thought you would stoop so low as to bring in dirty changelings to help you!"

"Neigh, Starry Nights," Luna responded, casting a defensive spell on the changelings, "You know little of our past! Let's us formally explain to you!"

"It's the other way around, peasant!" Star snapped. She shot down more changelings around her as they tried dog-piling on top of her.

"Hand over control of Equestria now and there won't be any problems later on!" Luna declared, standing tall.

"Enough talk," Chrysalis said impatiently, "Down with the princess!"

Chrysalis and Luna both jumped onto Star, but Star blasted them back with her powerful magic. She seemed to have gained magic since their last confrontation and Luna sensed this, but she also sensed something off with Star as the fight dragged on.

"Take this!" Star screamed and she summoned a wave of dark magic in the area.

The dark magic rose up from the floors and held grips on most of the changelings. Star was getting even more powerful by the second while the opposition grew weaker and fewer in number.

"How is this possible?" Luna grunted, shooting Star with some alicorn magic.

"She's not even…tired…" Chrysalis added. "It doesn't make sense!"

"There's no fun when things make…sense." Star laughed. Her laugh skidded off and sounded just like Discord towards the end and Luna immediately recognized it.

"Discord!" Luna shouted.

"The one and only!" Discord beamed. He was inside Star's body and controlling her with his chaotic magic.

"Have they…have they…merged?" Chrysalis wondered.

"Why bother trying?" Star said, ignoring Chrysalis' comment. She blasted Chrysalis away with powerful dark magic again. "You've already lost."

"No!" Luna declared. She tackled Star to the ground and forced Discord out of Star with her Nightmare-making abilities.

Star was left vulnerable as Luna dealt with Discord, which left Chrysalis fighting her. Star, shaken by the sudden change, fired off more dark magic at Chrysalis, but it was of less power now that Discord was freed.

"Foolish pony!" Chrysalis smirked, channeling her changeling magic. "This is where it all comes to an end."

Just before Chrysalis unleashed her changeling magic, someone shouting from the end of the hall disrupted everything and caused everything to fall into a silence.

" _STOP!_ "

The fighting between the ponies and the changelings came to a halt as the new voice echoed throughout the hall. The voice belonged to a pony who had flown in from the center gateway. Their shadow was covering their face, but as they came to a rest between Chrysalis and Star, it became apparent who this was.

"Who are you?" Chrysalis said.

"I want this ceaseless fighting to stop…" The pony said removing a hood from their head. It was Lunar.

"Lunar!?" Luna gasped.

"F-Father…?" Star slowly said.

Lunar turned to Star and apologized from his heart. "I'm sorry for not being there for you much throughout your childhood. I'm sorry for letting you down, Star. I'm sorry for whatever it was that you may have seen that caused you to act out this way. But more importantly, I'm sorry for failing you, Starry…"

"Father…?" Star softly spoke. "Is it true…? Did you hurt mommy?"

"I would never hurt your mother, dear," Lunar answered, "I love your mother and she loves me. Together, we both love you…and nopony can take that love away from us."

"Daddy…"

"I know I haven't been a good father," Lunar said, "But let's try to fix that…" He held out his hoof to Star. "…Together, as a family."

Star, looking at Lunar's hoof, finally started to see more clearer now. Her eyes finally changed back to the lilac eyes that she inherited from Twilight and she finally calmed down. She embraced Lunar in a hug and was joined by an incoming Twilight. She flew in joyfully and tightly squeezed Lunar and Star in a much overdue family hug.

"I'm so glad you're back with us, Star…" Twilight happily cried.

"Now, we're a family again…" Lunar added.

The royal family hugged tightly in the center of the hall a bit longer, bringing many tears to the eyes of the changelings while also serving their need for love.

* * *

About a year later, everything has returned to a sense of normality. Star has learned to control her emotions just a little bit better and now has a system for Twilight that let's her know if she's in trouble. As for Lunar, he and Star now spend as much time together as possible, teaching Star everything he knows about the virtual world and his past. It was long overdue, but the father-daughter moments that were shared between Star and Lunar were some of the best moments for those two. Discord, who had escaped Equestria briefly, had been captured by the changelings and handed over to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, who prompted to turn Discord back into stone unless he pay his debt to society. As a punishment for controlling Star and manipulating her, he had to replant every tree that was cut down in the Ever free Forest. Star would help him out, but found more joy in teasing him over his punishment.

It's been a long ride, but Star has learned to come to appreciate herself for who she really is. She still learns plenty from Twilight and Lunar and considers them to be the greatest parents ever.


	11. My Little Pony: :yonP elttiL yM

_**My Little Pony: :ynoP elttiL yM**_

It was a warm, sunny Friday in Ponyville. Birds flew in the clear blue sky, and the sun's magnificent rays shone down upon the earth. The market was filled with ponies and shopkeepers alike, and the park contained a numerous amount of ponies relaxing. Twilight Sparkle and her friends had met up at the park that afternoon to relax and catch up with each other. Much has happened between the group of conjoined friends and this was the first time in a while that they could all slow down and relax together.

"It's gorgeous out!" Rarity said, laying on the small blanket that covered the ground. "Simply gorgeous! I can't think of any better way to spend today. Especially with all of my clients' orders finished."

"Ah don't think anything can spoil this day," Applejack agreed.

"The Pegasi have really outdone themselves today." Rainbow Dash added. "After all, I think that's a given. We always do a good job."

"They did super awesome today in the skies!" Pinkie Pie enthusiastically said.

"It is very nice out," Fluttershy softly spoke. "Wouldn't you agree, Twilight?"

"I have no reason to not agree." Twilight answered. "Today is perfect." She turned to her husband, another alicorn by the name of Lunar Nights. "Wouldn't you say so, Lunar?"

Lunar nodded. "Yeah, it's picture perfect today."

"It feels like forever since the last time it was this nice outside!" Pinkie Pie said.

"It sure does." Rainbow Dash agreed.

Suddenly, Lightning Bolt, another Pegasus, had flown by, stopping and calling for Rainbow Dash.

"C'mon, Rainbow! Let's go!"

Rainbow Dash looked up, confused about what was just said. "Huh?"

"Didn't you hear? All the Pegasi are gathering for an important meeting. C'mon, we're gonna be late!"

Rainbow Dash looked at her friends with a longing gleam in her eye, but turned and spread her wings. She wanted to stay and relax with her friends, but if there was an important meeting for the Pegasi, it would be wise to attend.

"I'll see you guys later!" She said as she flew away.

Once she had disappeared into the blue sky, Twilight wondered, "What was that about?"

"I don't know, but it seemed to be very important," Rarity said.

* * *

Rainbow flew through the air as fast as she could, the wind whipping at her mane. While flying through the air, she saw Lightning Bolt. Managing to catch up with her, Rainbow Dash kept pace and asked her what was wrong.

"Well, apparently," she started, "we missed a rain date and we're being called together to prepare a storm for tonight."

"How did we miss a rain date?" Rainbow Dash asked, surprised. "The next rain date isn't 'til the 24th!"

"And today is the 25th."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"If it wasn't, we wouldn't have been called together." Lightning Bolt replied.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash replied. "I guess you're right... But how could we have missed that rain date? We never miss our scheduled rain dates!"

"I don't know, Rainbow. But somehow, we did miss a rain date, no matter how much it shames me to say it."

Silence fell for the remainder of the trip. The two Pegasi flew towards Cloudsdale towards the crowd gathered just outside of Cloudsdale Town Hall. There were hundreds of Pegasi there, possibly thousands. Rainbow Dash was stuck in the back of all the other Pegasi, barely managing to hear what was being said.

"...so in order to make up the lost rain date, tonight we have to bring in storm clouds and settle them all over Equestria. Cloudsdale is the only place that will be free of the storm since the Pegasi that control the weather here did their jobs. Correctly, if you will."

The other Pegasi looked down with shame. The Pegasi that controlled the weather for Cloudsdale were always praised by the councilponies in Town Hall.

 _It's almost impossible for them to mess up their weather._ Rainbow Dash thought, sulking slightly. _They have those councilponies on them like yellow on hay._

"So, everypony, hop to it! We have storms to prepare and we need it ready by nightfall! Move!"

Rainbow Dash flew away in a hurry and started preparing the dark clouds over Ponyville. She dreadfully despised this and hated that this picture perfect day had to end with dark, gloomy clouds overhead. Grabbing a dark cumulonimbus and placing it just to the right of Ponyville Town Hall, Rainbow Dash groaned and forced herself to continue working.

"Why do those councilponies always have to ruin it for everypony else?" she lamented.

Within a few hours, she finished, and the thunder could be heard overhead. Before leaving for her cloud home, she stopped by and met up with her friends over at Twilight's house; her castle. She knocked on the door and within a few seconds, Twilight opened it and welcomed her.

"Rainbow," Twilight started while closing the door, "how come the Pegasi rounded up all these storm clouds?"

"Yeah, how come? And why didn't you ask for help?" Lunar asked.

"Apparently, we missed a scheduled rain date, which was supposed to be for yesterday. Those boring old councilponies ruined this day. And I didn't get help because one, we all know I'm too awesome for help, and two, I didn't need the help." Rainbow Dash replied.

"Well," Applejack started, "looks like we're all trapped here 'til this here storm blows over."

"I guess so," Twilight agreed. "I don't think anypony wants to go home in this kind of weather."

"You know what that means, right?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Slumber party!"

Just then, lightning struck a nearby electrical cable and had cut the power to all neighboring homes, leaving everypony in the dark.

"Well, that's just great!" Spike sarcastically shouted. "Now I can't finish sweeping the floors!"

"Chill out, Spike!" Rainbow Dash replied. "This is the perfect mood to tell _**scaaarrryyyyy**_ stories!"

"Count me out," Spike answered. "I've already seen enough scary stuff today!"

"Really?" Twilight sarcastically asked. "Like what? Care to share your experiences with us?"

"I don't want to bring it up," Spike responded.

"Sounds like somepony is too scared for his own scales." Lunar teased.

"No!" Spike shot back, defending himself. "I'm just tired, y'know?"

"Sure, Spike," Twilight smirked.

"Whatever," Spike said, walking out of the main room and down one of the hallways, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. I'll see you all in the morning."

"Goodnight, Spike!" everypony said.

"Goodnight, everypony!" Spike answered as he walked up a flight of stairs.

"So," Rainbow Dash started, "who wants to hear a scary story?"

"Why not?" Twilight said. "There's no harm in a little story, right?"

"Yeah, Rainbow." Applejack added. "Let's hear what 'cha got for us."

"Okay," Rainbow Dash frighteningly said, "but be warned, this will probably be the most scary story you've ever heard! Mwah ha ha ha!"

"Good luck with that," Lunar challenged, "I don't get scared easily."

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow Dash replied.

"Hold on, Dash," Twilight said, looking towards Lunar, "You don't get scared easily?"

"Nope."

"I want a divorce." Twilight sternly told Lunar, joking with him.

Lunar, taking the bait, hugged Twilight closely. "No! Please! Anything but that!" Deep down, he knew it was a joke.

Twilight giggled, as did the other ponies as they watched Lunar closely hug Twilight. "It's okay. I won't leave you." She cuddled up next to Lunar closely.

"Now," Rainbow Dash smirked, "the super _**scaaaaaaarrrrryy**_ story!"

* * *

"And to this day, once a month, during a dark and scary night, just like tonight, it is said that you can still hear their shouts for help and the Devil Pony's evil laugh!"

For an added effect, thunder and lightning kicked in and scared the living daylight out of everypony.

"Now how was THAT?" Rainbow Dash proudly asked, knowing that she did a good job with the story tonight.

"Um, that was really scary," Fluttershy squeaked out from behind Rarity's back.

"That was really scary, Rainbow," Pinkie Pie answered. "Like, super duper majorly scary!"

"It sure was." Applejack said. "Where do y'all hear these crazy stories from anyways?"

"That's for me to know and for you to never find out." Rainbow Dash answered, sticking her tongue out at Applejack.

Twilight giggled and then looked at the clock. It read "11:38 p.m." "Wow, look at the time!"

Everypony turned and saw the time on the clock and were surprised at how late it was.

"I think it's about time we all head on off to bed," Twilight continued, "don't you think?"

"Yeah," Lunar smiled, "I have some royal duties to take care of tonight. Dream-walking duties and whatnot. I say we hit the hay."

"Me, too." Fluttershy added.

"Me, three!" Pinkie Pie chipped in.

"Yeah, I'ma go on and hit the hay." Applejack said. "See y'all in the mornin'."

Everypony made their way upstairs afterwards and all headed towards Twilight's and Lunar's room and off to bed. The night outside was dark and stormy, much different from the usual stormy weather they receive. There was a much stronger wind than what Ponyville usually receives during storms that was clearly noticeable. The wind was so strong that it broke open the window into the bedroom everypony slept in. Everypony was fast asleep at the time and had no idea that the window was open. Rain started pouring into the room as well, missing everypony but severely drenching the floor of the room. Eventually, the room became cold. Still, nopony awoke from their slumbers.

Morning soon came afterwards, but not before the storm had taken its toll on Twilight's room as well as all of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash was the first to get up after a long night's sleep and poked her head out of the open window to see just exactly what had happened. Starting from her left and working her way to the right, Rainbow Dash looked in total disbelief and had covered her mouth with her hoof. There were downed trees and poles everywhere, some on homes and others in the streets.

 _This damage is unreal…_ She thought to herself.

Rainbow Dash turned back into the room and away from the damage that was outside. She quietly walked over to where she had slept and sat down, holding her head down low in shame.

"Somehow, this is my fault..."

Rainbow Dash looked over at Twilight after noticing some movement coming from her bed. She walked up to her and noticed Twilight was shaking furiously. She thought that it was because of the open window and so she closed it, walking back to her bed. Before she knew it, she had fallen back asleep.

* * *

A few hours more had passed before everypony and Spike finally woke up. Well, everypony, except for Twilight. Twilight was still shaking furiously and did in fact get up at one point, but was ultimately grounded due to her furious shaking.

"She's come down with a cold!" Rarity exclaimed.

"What does that mean?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"It means she's sick, Pinkie." Fluttershy responded.

"Yes," continued Rarity, "and when a unicorn gets sick, they sometimes unleash some excess magic that they have. Sometimes, it's little things that are casted while a unicorn is sick, but since Twilight's special talent is magic, it may be something more!"

"And if you're right, Rarity, this might not end up too well, huh?" Applejack concluded.

"Most probably not," Rarity answered.

"It would be best if we try to help her feel better now, right?" Fluttershy suggested.

"We have soup over in the other room," Spike said. "I can boil it by breathing fire over it."

"Then go and do that," Rarity answered. "In the meantime, we'll try to keep her warm."

Spike then left to go prepare Twilight some soup while the others tried to warm her up. They offered her some blankets and sheets but Twilight wouldn't take them. Lunar even tried cuddling next to Twilight to keep her warm, but Twilight even rejected that.

"Darling," Rarity started, "you need to get warmer otherwise you won't get better."

Still shivering, Twilight answered back weakly, "It's okay. I'll be fine." She then sneezed after saying this and unleashed some excess magic. Fortunately, this time, only a book transported from one shelf to another shelf.

"No, you won't, Twilight." Lunar said.

"Lunar's right." Fluttershy added. "If you don't wrap yourself in this blanket, you won't get warmer."

"And you need ta be warm ta feel better, sugarcube," Applejack said.

Twilight gave in. "Fine." She said, sneezing again. This time, her magic switched Pinkie's position with Fluttershy's.

"What just happened?" Pinkie asked.

"Her magic bursts are stronger than any other bursts I've ever seen." Rarity warned. "We need to get her better and fast!"

Just then, Spike reappeared with the hot bowl of soup and gave it to Twilight. "Here, drink this."

Twilight tried using her magic to help her eat the soup, but it was no good, since her illness disturbed her concentration on the bowl. Now, the bursts occurred without Twilight having to sneeze and this caused everypony to switch places with one another.

"Here, Twily." Lunar said, using his magic to help Twilight drink the soup.

"Thanks, Lunar." Twilight answered, coughing slightly. She turned to her friends. "And all of you, thank you for your help."

"That's what friends do for each other, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said.

"And you all are the best friends anypony could ask for." Twilight finished. She sneezed once more and this time, a brilliant magenta aura emanated from the tip of her horn.

"Uh… what's she doin'?" Applejack said, a trace of panic seeping into her voice.

"She's preparing a particularly large burst of magic!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Everypony duck!" Lunar called.

However, just before anypony (or dragon) could react, there was a popping noise reminiscent of a cork being removed from a bottle, and the room was completely engulfed in a bright white light. A few moments later, the group of friends reached their destination, which was unknown to them all. Groaning, everypony (and dragon) lifted themselves off the ground.

"Where are we?" Fluttershy cautiously asked, looking around at the nearby scenery.

"I ain't sure..." Applejack answered.

"Where are we, Twilight?" Pinkie asked.

"I don't know..." Twilight replied.

The surrounding area was dark and ominous looking. The sky, full of dark gray clouds, looked like it would pound the land with heavy rain at any second, with thunder sounding just about every fifteen seconds or so. There was a little hole in the clouds just big enough to see both the sun and the moon. There was half of each up in the sky; the left half was the sun and the right half was the moon. Huge dark trees surrounded the small path the group had arrived on.

"Stick together, everypony," Lunar advised, "we don't know who could be out there."

Everypony crept closer together, forming a tight circle around themselves. Lunar and Twilight had started glancing around, trying to find something familiar to them. The group had no idea as to where they were but had seen the lights of a town not too far in the distance, and had decided to seek shelter there. Off they went, but not after a dark, ominous figure flitted away from the group into the safety of the surrounding darkness and into the woods. Fluttershy heard this sound and crept behind Rarity.

"Wh-who's there?" She quietly asked, revealing a tone of fear in her voice.

Rarity turned around upon hearing the question, noticing that there was nopony else there.

"Darling," she stated, "why there appears to be that no one else is here."

Fluttershy cowered up even further, shakily raising a hoof, pointing at a nearby bush.

"Th-there's s-something in there!" She squeaked.

Everypony and Spike glanced over at the bush, noticing little to no movement coming from it. Rainbow Dash bravely approached the bush, confronting whatever was within it.

"Come out of there!" Rainbow Dash ordered. "I mean it!"

Whatever was in the bush moved about even more, but refused to come out of its hiding.

"Come out of there!" Rainbow Dash shouted, louder than before. "This is your last warning!"

Lunar stepped in front of Rainbow Dash. "Allow me, Dash," he told her. Rainbow Dash grunted, but allowed Lunar to proceed. Standing strong, Lunar gazed at the bush and became formal. "By order of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, I, Prince Lunar, order you to stand away from the bush!"

The bush rumbled and moved about for a quick second. Finally, a light, azure colored hoof came out of hiding, revealing itself to everypony and Spike. Eventually, an entire pony stepped out from behind the bush.

This pony, a Pegasus pony more specifically, was almost the same exact color as Rainbow Dash. The only difference between them and Rainbow Dash was their mane color. Rainbow's was (obviously) a rainbow color, and this pony's was a jet black color. They had the same colored fur, the same sized wings and wingspan, and almost identical cutie marks. This pony's cutie mark was a black cloud with a yellow lightning bolt, to go with Rainbow Dash's rainbow colored lightning bolt.

Rainbow Dash looked in a daze as she stared into this Pegasus' cerise colored eyes, tilting her head in awe.

"Who are you?" She cautiously asked.

The Pegasus tilted their head, mirroring the way Rainbow Dash tilted her head.

"Oh, I could ask you the same thing, Rainbow Dash," the unknown pony replied.

"How do you know her name?" Lunar objected.

"Come now, Lunar," the pony continued, "we know who you all are."

The group of friends started to feel uneasy about the current situation. Moving forward, Rainbow Dash demanded to know this pony's name.

"Fine," replied the pony, stalling the situation even more.

"Well?" an impatient Rainbow Dash called. "Who are you?"

"My name is Blackout Crash." They answered. "And I know very well who you are, Rainbow Dash!"

Upon saying that, Blackout Crash bolted away, leaving a sonic rainboom behind her, only instead of it being a rainbow, it was pure jet black.

"C'mon!" Applejack barked. "Let's go git her!"

Everypony (and Spike) rushed after Blackout Crash. They entered a nearby town upon chasing after her, resembling a lot like how Ponyville looked like.

"Where are we?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Ah don't know..." answered Applejack.

"It looks like…Ponyville?" Pinkie Pie said.

"But how is that possible?" Fluttershy responded.

"I don't know, Fluttershy…" Twilight answered.

The group of friends slowly walked around, keeping their guards up high. They did not know what happened or where they traveled to, but the ambiance that trickled down around each of them made the situation more horrifying and frightening. Moments later, they had heard some sinister laughs not too far from where they were. Everypony backed up into a circle, with Spike surrounded in the middle.

"Who's there?" questioned Rarity.

A sinister voice, sounding identical to Rarity's English sounding voice, answered back.

"Why so serious, Rarity?"

Rarity looked around, ranging her view from doors to the roofs. She started growing fearful and frightened because everywhere she looked, no one was there to be found. Looking down from the roofs, she noticed a unicorn standing in front of her. This unicorn looked exactly like her, same mane color, same styled mane, same colored eyes, same coat color. The only difference between this pony and Rarity was their cutie mark. Rarity's was three gems. This pony's cutie mark was a palette with a paintbrush.

"Who are you?" Rarity asked, checking out the details this pony had in their mane.

The unicorn laughed evilly as they answered the upper-classed pony. "My name is Ragity! And I know all about you, Rarity."

Rarity jumped back. "How do you know me?"

Ragity forbade to answer Rarity's question. Instead, she looked elsewhere.

"We all know who you are!" Another pony answered.

Looking over towards where the voice originated from, the mane six saw another pony, who resembled much like Applejack. This pony had the same mane color, but their mane was styled up in a bun. This pony had an apple as a cutie mark, resembling Applejack's triple apple cutie mark. They were in a purple dress, something Rarity was idolizing from afar.

"Who in the hoof are you?" Applejack asked.

This pony laughed, revealing an upper-class stature. She looked away while answering the hard working earth pony.

"You may address me as Fancyvain, Applejack." They answered.

"Where in Equestria are we?" Twilight wondered.

"I'm not too sure, Twilight," Lunar replied.

Almost on cue, another pony spoke up and addressed Twilight and the gang.

"We know who you are!" Another voice said.

Everypony turned towards the new voice, which belonged to a pink earth pony. This pony was a lot like Pinkie Pie, same mane color, coat color, everything. The only differences between this pony and Pinkie Pie was the mane style and the cutie mark, a piece of cake on a plate, whereas Pinkie's were three balloons.

"Oooh," Pinkie Pie said, admiring the pony in front of her. "Who are you?"

The pony laughed evilly while answering the spastic, party-loving earth pony.

"I am Cakamena!" They roared.

"Cakamena?" Pinkie Pie repeated.

Cakamena grunted. "Yes! Why must everypony repeat the name!?"

"Oh, boo-hoo-hoo!" Another voice said. "You gonna cry Cakamena?"

The group again turned their heads to face the unknown pony.

"Who are you?" Fluttershy cowardly asked.

"I am Bitterfly!" They answered.

This pony had a pale yellow coat, much like Fluttershy's, along with a magenta colored mane, with one black strip running from top to bottom through it. Bitterfly's cutie mark was a tulip and she had a long flowing tail, resembling Fluttershy's long tail.

"Well now, what do we have here?" A new voice sinisterly beckoned.

Lunar looked over towards this pony, noticing several key features that were similar between him and this pony.

"I take it that you're my doppelgänger?" Lunar questioned.

"How dare you refer to me as _your_ doppelgänger!" The pony roared in response, obviously offended by Lunar's comment. "You're _my_ doppelgänger!"

"Impossible," Lunar continued, "for you look like me and everything."

The pony chuckled. "Alas, you look like me! You're in my world now, so you're _my_ doppelgänger!"

Ragity grew restless. "Oh shut up, Lunar Eclipse!"

Lunar Eclipse grew even angrier. He shot a mean look at Ragity and threatened her verbally. "That's _Prince_ Lunar Eclipse to you, Ragity!"

"Tell somepony who cares!" Ragity responded. She paid attention to Twilight and the gang once more.

The six lookalikes stood in a straight line with Ragity at the left end and Bitterfly at the right end. The mane six, Lunar, and Spike stood in a line across from the lookalikes, with Twilight on the left end and Pinkie Pie on the right end.

Lunar Eclipse stepped forward a bit and, raising a hoof in the process, formerly introduced the five other ponies.

"Feast your eyes on the Elements of Disharmony!" Lunar Eclipse smirked. "I'm your worst nightmare, Prince Lunar Eclipse."

"The Elements of _Dis_ harmony?" Rainbow Dash repeated.

"Yes," answered Blackout Crash, "the Elements of Disharmony."

"We are your counterparts to the Elements of Harmony." Ragity added.

"If you are our counterparts," Twilight started, pausing to sneeze, "where's my counterpart to the Element of Magic?"

Blackout Crash spoke up, ignoring Twilight's question. "I am the Element of Betrayal."

"I am the Element of Dishonesty," Fancyvain added.

"I am the Element of Sadness!" Cakamena menacingly said.

"Cruelty!" Bitterfly added.

"And I'm the Element of Selfishness!" Ragity concluded.

"So, where's the counterpart to the Element of Magic?" Twilight asked once more, sneezing in the process.

"We don't need your precious magic counterpart!" Blackout Crash sharply said.

"Frankly, my dear," Ragity continued, pointing at Twilight, "your counterpart is no longer able to use magic anymore!"

"We broke off her horn!" Cakamena added.

"You what!?" gasped Twilight.

"You heard us," Ragity continued, "we broke off her horn! Moonlight Twinkle is no longer able to use magic!"

 _Moonlight Twinkle must be my counterpart,_ Twilight thought.

"And now, we're gonna have to take you to go meet Solar and Satellite," Bitterfly said, "the rulers of Equestria."

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow Dash challenged. "Just try and make us!"

"Wrong choice!" Lunar Eclipse said, trapping Rainbow Dash in a magic force field.

"Now," Cakamena added, "unless you want to end up like Rainbow Crash here, you'll follow us and do exactly as we say!"

Twilight hesitated, looking at her friends, especially Rainbow Dash. She wanted to retaliate and save Rainbow Dash, but was stopped by Lunar; her Lunar.

"Let me go, Lunar!" Twilight spoke out.

Lunar ignored Twilight's request and advised her that retaliation was not a wise decision at the current moment, given the ponies surrounding them all.

"We need to think with our heads, Twilight," Lunar said, "acting through emotions is not a wise decision right now."

"But they have Rainbow Dash!" Twilight continued.

"Get me out of here!" Rainbow Dash pleaded.

"I know, Twilight," Lunar responded, "we'll get Rainbow Dash back _and_ have our chance for revenge. We just have to be patient and wait for the right time to strike back."

Twilight groaned, obliging to Lunar's comment. She turned to the Elements of Disharmony and surrendered herself to them. "What do you want from us?"

Lunar Eclipse smirked evilly, moving next to Ragity, his wife. "Come with us. Oh, and don't try anything funny…we have your numbers, peasants."

* * *

Deep within the Canterlot dungeons, a lone purple unicorn with a moderately indigo colored mane with brilliant streaks of rosé in her mane and tail stood about, pacing left and right through the dungeon she was locked in. A little purple dragon with green spines appeared from the shadows of the dungeon, questioning the unicorn as to how they were going to escape the clutches of Solar and Satellite, along with the Elements of Disharmony. All their previous attempts at escape were thwarted, the last one resulting in less than desirable outcomes.

"I don't know, Thistle," the unicorn replied.

"If only you could use your magic, Moonlight..." Thistle responded.

Moonlight raised a hoof up and touched her chipped horn. It had given her excruciating pain, but the pain subsided after a couple seconds. Her horn was chipped after Cakamena had kicked it when her friends became the Elements of Disharmony. Moonlight, as bright and intelligent as she is, collapsed on the ground, unsure of what to do next. Thistle, Moonlight's baby dragon assistant, comforted Moonlight after tears began filling her eyes.

"There, there," he stated, "it'll be alright. And we'll find a way to revert Lunar, Fancyjane, Party Cake, Curebug, Greybow Ash, and," he paused for a quick second, idolizing the name of the pony whom it belonged to, "and, Scarcity."

Moonlight wiped the tears from her eyes and gave a small smile to Thistle. She then rolled her eyes playfully, bringing Thistle closer in towards her. "Hopefully we can, Thistle. I'd long for that."

A sudden sound coming from down the hallway startled Moonlight and Thistle. They jumped back and hid in the corner of their dungeon as far back as possible. Suddenly, without warning, the door to Moonlight's and Thistle's dungeon opened up. Seven ponies were then tossed into the room, the last being a purple alicorn. The door slammed shut, and the five other ponies, most likely the Elements of Disharmony, left the Canterlot dungeons.

A white unicorn spoke up, groaning in the process.

"Oof! They obviously have the slightest idea as to how to treat a lady!"

"Who goes there?" Moonlight retorted.

The seven ponies who were just tossed into the dungeon jumped back, lining up along the front wall. Moonlight and Thistle revealed themselves from the corner they were in. They could see the faces of each of the seven ponies that stood in front of her, all of which resembled her friends in some way.

The last pony she looked at, the purple alicorn, was identical to her in every way possible. She had the same mane style, the same coat color, and the same mane color, with the same highlight going down the same strand in her mane. The only thing different between these two ponies were their cutie marks and the set of wings. Moonlight's cutie mark was a crescent moon while the other pony had a star on their flank.

"You look like my friends..." Moonlight meekly said.

"Only they aren't your friends, Moonlight." Thistle replied.

"I know, Thistle." Moonlight answered.

She turned and faced the ponies standing in front of her.

"My name is Moonlight Twinkle," she started, "I am Concord's faithful student."

"Concord?" The purple alicorn asked, sneezing in the process.

"He's the ruler of Equestria here," Thistle said, "or at least he used to be before Solar and Satellite turned him into stone. My name's Thistle. What are your names?"

A lightly colored Pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and tail stepped up, revealing who they were.

"I'm Rainbow Dash! And as you can see, I'm 100% awesome!"

A pale yellow Pegasus hovered in the air slightly.

"Umm...my name is...Fluttershy." She squeaked.

A pink colored pony was bouncing up and down in place, excited to meet the pony in front of them.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie and I'm sooooooo happy to meet you!"

"It's a pleasure making your acquaintance," a high-class white colored unicorn stated, "my name's Rarity and you may address me as such."

An orange colored pony casually walked up to Moonlight and held their hoof out, shaking hooves with Moonlight, vigorously might I add.

"Howdy do there, Moonlight!" They said. "Ah'm Applejack and Ah jus' love makin' new friends!"

Moonlight was in awe as to the strength Applejack had while shaking hooves with her.

The dark colored alicorn spoke next.

"Hello there," they stated, "I'm Prince Lunar Nights."

Moonlight smiled at the alicorn prince, then turned to the purple alicorn last, politely asking who they were.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle." The alicorn answered. "And this here is Spike."

Spike crept out from behind Twilight and saw Thistle and Moonlight, greeting himself to them.

Just then, the doors to the dungeon opened up. In the shadow of the door stood Ragity and Blackout Crash. Ragity spoke up to the mane six first.

"Solar and Satellite wish to have a word with you seven!" She shouted.

"Let's go!" Blackout Crash added. "Everypony start moving!"

The mane six, Lunar, and Spike were then forcefully pulled out of the dungeon cell. Being pushed in an unknown direction, the group of friends were escorted to meet Solar and Satellite.

"Solar and Satellite?" questioned Rainbow Dash.

"Who are they?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Ragity snuffed at the question at hoof. She sharply turned her head at Pinkie, answering her question.

"They are our rulers!" She snapped.

"Solar and Satellite overthrew that silly Concord as leader!" Blackout Crash added.

 _I remember Moonlight Twinkle saying something about that Concord character,_ Twilight thought.

* * *

"Satellite! Bring in the statue of Concord! I want to mock it once more!"

Solar, Satellite's older sister, was a white colored alicorn with a long, flowing, multi-colored mane and tail. Her cutie mark was that of the sun, resembling much like Celestia's cutie mark. Solar also was the same height as Celestia, and her younger sister, Satellite, was the same height as Princess Luna.

Satellite brought in the statue of Concord. Concord was a draconequus, the alternate version of Discord, specifically speaking. Concord had a fine sense of humor and had trapped Solar and Satellite into the sun and moon respectively over a thousand years ago. However, once the spell he casted broke off, the two sister alicorns were set free and, using the Elements of Harmony, transformed Concord into stone. Upon completing this task, the sisters then turned on the Elements as well as the Element holders, transforming them into the exact opposites of what they truly were. As a result, they became the Elements of Disharmony and had thrown Moonlight Twinkle into the dungeon after she had tried resisting the two new rulers. Moonlight had been trying to fight against her friends and the two evil sisters, but after Cakamena kicked her horn and broke it off, she had no choice but to surrender.

After resting the statue of Concord in front of her sister, Satellite turned around and started heading out the door. Satellite was a dark colored alicorn, whom had a long, flowing, dark colored mane and tail. Her cutie mark was that of the moon and she resembled much like Luna and her appearance.

"Satellite," Solar started, "be a dear, won't you, and check to see where Blackout Crash and Ragity are with our guests."

Satellite opened the door that led outside their room into a long, dark hallway. She noticed a pale blue Pegasus walking towards the throne room, followed by seven other ponies, a dragon, and Ragity. Turning her head, she called out to her older sister.

"Our guests have arrived, Solar!" She stated.

Blackout Crash led the group of ponies into the throne room. It was a large room filled with many window panes and spires. This room resembled a lot like the throne room Canterlot had back home, consisting of every little thing, exactly to detail. Blackout Crash stopped just in front of the throne Solar was sitting atop on, bowed down, then ordered the ponies (and Spike) to line up.

"Well," Solar started, "greetings to you all. My name is Princess Solar and, along with my younger sister, Princess Satellite, we rule all of Equestria."

Satellite walked up to her throne and faced the line of creatures that stood in front of her. She noticed down towards the far left end of them that two of them were alicorns.

"I must say, it isn't everyday you get to say that you've met a couple of alicorns, let alone the Elements of Harmony, now isn't it, sister?"

"I'd agree with you there, Satellite." Solar responded.

Twilight and the others, minus Fluttershy, sharply gazed at the two sister alicorns.

Stepping up, Twilight said, "What do you want with us, Celes, I mean, Solar!"

Solar shot a mean look back at Twilight. "I know you didn't just call me Celestia! I am not your happy-go-lucky alicorn YOU call princess!"

"Here, it's a symbol of disgust and repugnance if you call our princesses that or Luna." Blackout Crash stated.

"You are digging yourselves into a very deep hole!" Ragity continued.

"Now, now, you two," Satellite started, "they don't know better."

"Satellite's right," Solar added, turning towards the seven ponies, "and you saw how Moonlight Twinkle is. It'd be a shame for you to end up like her."

"How can we end up like her when five of us don't have horns?" Rainbow Dash foolishly asked.

"For Pegasi," Solar continued, "we can tear your wings off."

"As for earth ponies," Satellite added, "with our magic, we can make you as disfigured as possible!"

"As for the dragon," Ragity said, "he can work alongside Thistle as my slave! I'm sure Prince Lunar Eclipse would love having another slave around the castle!"

"Now," continued Solar, "unless you have any questions, I suggest that you start working immediately!"

"Working as what?" asked Twilight.

"Working as our slaves!" Satellite concluded.

Twilight stepped back, shocked at what was just said. Looking at her friends, she didn't know what to do.

"What'll it be, peasants!" Solar commanded. "Are you willing to work as our slaves? Or shall we lock you up in the dungeons?"

Twilight looked up after she had looked into each of her friends' eyes, all revealing a bit of frightfulness and bitterness in them, even Rainbow Dash's.

"We won't work for the likes of you!" Twilight barked.

Solar smirked a bit. "Well then, you can rot in the dungeon for the rest of eternity!"

"Blackout Crash, Ragity," Satellite continued, "lead these wretched fools back to the dungeons they were in."

"Right away, Your Highness!" They replied as they took the group back to the dungeons.

Once the doors to the throne room shut, Solar went back to mocking the stone statue of Concord.

* * *

"Get in there, you!"

Blackout Crash was ordering Twilight and her friends to get back into the dungeon they once were in. Not wanting to start a fight, they did as they were told and proceeded stepping inside the cell they were in previously.

"You're going to be here for a loooooong time!" Ragity admitted before leaving with Blackout Crash.

Moonlight Twinkle stepped up from the shadows once more, asking Twilight Sparkle what exactly happened in Solar's and Satellite's throne room. Sneezing, Twilight answered the unicorn's question.

"They told us that we could either become their slaves, or be locked up here for eternity."

Moonlight gasped, "Obviously you chose not to become their slaves."

Twilight nodded. She then gazed at each of her friends and noticed the sad, depressing looks each one of them displayed. She then remembered something from earlier that Moonlight told her about.

"You said something about Concord earlier." Twilight started. She turned her attention back towards Moonlight. "What else can you tell me about him? Can we free him from his stone statue?"

Moonlight looked Twilight dead in the eyes as she answered the question.

"Concord was the ruler of Equestria long before Solar and Satellite came to power. Originally, Concord sealed away those two into the sun and moon. They stood there, trapped, for over a thousand years."

"Then what happened?" asked Twilight.

"Over a thousand years later, Concord felt a strong evil force coming from the sky. It felt as if it were growing stronger and stronger as each day passes. Since he was no longer connected to the Elements of Harmony, as they once were known, he sent me to go retrieve them." continued Moonlight.

"So what happened to the Elements?" Twilight responded.

"Why are they the Elements of Disharmony?" Lunar added.

Moonlight sighed, continuing on with her story. "I rounded up my five friends - Scarcity, Greybow Ash, Fancyjane, Curebug, and Party Cake, who go by Ragity, Blackout Crash, Fancyvain, Bitterfly, and Cakamena, in that order - and we set out to retrieve the Elements. What I didn't know was that the evil forces had already reached the Elements and my friends, so once we found them, they transformed my friends into the Elements of Disharmony. I fought against them but, using their new powers, they blasted me and cancelled out my crown, which shattered to pieces. Concord showed up not too long afterwards and I watched in horror as my friends turned him into stone. I wanted to teleport out of there to safety, but I was too stunned to do anything."

Moonlight stopped as tears began filling her eyes. Twilight comforted her as best as she could while Moonlight continued on with her story.

"Then, my friends demanded that I surrender, so I did. Party Cake then kicked my horn afterwards and chipped it into what it now is, thus taking away my abilities to perform magic. They brought me here and ever since, me and Thistle have been trying to find a way to bring Concord back and restore peace and tranquility here in Equestria."

Twilight stared in awe at the complexity and graphic story that was just told.

"What about Lunar Eclipse?" Lunar asked. "Where did he come into play?"

Moonlight nodded, then continued with her story. "I wasn't there for it, but rumor has it that he was sent here from a faraway place to learn from Concord. The story goes that Lunar Eclipse hadn't yet heard of Concord's banishment and punishment, so he was walking into a trap. Once he got here, it is said that the Elements of Disharmony influenced his thinking and rationality and corrupted him. He then grew fond of Scarcity and she grew fond of him, so they got married and now work together on most things."

Lunar was astonished by how similar the story between Lunar Eclipse and himself was. He turned to Twilight, who was still comforting Moonlight. Pausing to sneeze, she assured Moonlight that they'll help find a way to bust out and restore peace in this Equestria.

"Thank you very much," Moonlight said.

"Thank you, all of you," Thistle added.

"It's what real friends do for each other." Twilight replied.

The group then started mapping out a plan.

* * *

"Blackout Crash!" Solar shouted, using the traditional Royal Canterlot voice, "Go check on our prisoners! Make sure they're not doing anything...fishy, if I may."

"Right away, Princess Solar!" Blackout Crash answered, hustling out of the room in a hurry.

"Bitterfly!" Solar continued, "I want you to follow Blackout Crash and provide backup, just in case something goes wrong."

Bitterfly grunted before heading on our the door. Satellite turned towards her older sister.

"Don't trust them?" She asked.

Solar looked down at her younger sister, answering her question.

"They're the Elements of Harmony, sister," she started, "they can't be trusted!"

Shortly afterwards, an alarm sounded. A royal guard dashed into the room, alerting Solar and Satellite what was happening.

"Princesses Solar and Satellite!" They started, "There has been an attempted prison break! We request your help in the Canterlot dungeons immediately!"

Solar and Satellite rushed away towards the Canterlot dungeons. Before leaving the room, Solar looked back at Ragity and Lunar Eclipse.

"Ragity, Lunar, stay here and protect the throne room and the Elements of Disharmony!"

"We'll do our best!" The two answered as Solar and Satellite left the room.

Cakamena revealed herself from the shadows and approached Ragity.

"What do you think is wrong?" She asked.

"I can't tell," replied Ragity, "but I'm more than certain that those wretched Elements of Harmony group is behind the prison riot."

Right she was, for the riot was the work of the seven friends. The plan was for the group, minus Twilight and Lunar, to cause a ruckus, forcing the guards to come in and calm them down. With the guards busy tending to the rest of the ponies, Twilight, Moonlight, Lunar, Spike, and Thistle would sneak out and work together to find a way to free Concord and bring back tranquility and serenity.

* * *

Deep in the Canterlot Dungeons, the riot was starting to get out of hand. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were slamming themselves against the walls of the dungeon while Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were pretend fighting. Twilight, Moonlight, Lunar, Spike, and Thistle were all hiding within the shadows in the corner of the dungeon cell. Soon, the door to the cell opened and Blackout Crash and Bitterfly rushed in, attempting to break up the fight and stop Rainbow and Applejack from what they were doing.

"Stop!" cried Blackout Crash.

"In the name of Solar, stop!" added Bitterfly.

The two demonic ponies managed to grab a hold of the five other ponies and gather them up in the middle.

Twilight was overlooking the entire time and decided that it best try to escape now.

"It's the best chance we have to escape, Moonlight," she started, "we best escape now."

"Right behind you, Twilight," Moonlight replied, "c'mon Thistle."

"You too, Spike." Twilight added.

Together, the five of them managed to escape the dungeon they were trapped in. Running down the halls, they made sure to be extra careful, just in case somepony spotted them. Upon reaching the end of one hallway, Twilight crept her head around the corner, revealing that nopony else was in sight.

"C'mon," Twilight quietly said, "this way."

Twilight and the others then started making their way down a new hallway. At the end of the hallway stood a door. Moonlight was about to bust through the door before Twilight and Lunar stopped her with their magic.

"Whoa there," Lunar called.

"You don't know what's beyond that door!" snapped Twilight. "For all we know, it could be a trap."

Moonlight looked down in discouragement. She knew she was overanxious, she just let those emotions her the better of her. Lunar comforted Moonlight and reassured her that it was just an accident. As for Twilight, she walked up to the door and looked through the keyhole.

"What do you see?" Lunar asked.

"There's four of them in there." She answered.

"Probably Ragity, Lunar Eclipse, Cakamena, and Fancyvain." concluded Moonlight.

"I'd bet that." Twilight continued.

She looked through the keyhole a little bit longer when suddenly, Ragity and Lunar Eclipse started walking into a segregated corner of the room.

"Ragity and Lunar have gone somewhere else." Twilight stated.

"If we ambush them now, it'll be two on five." Moonlight suggested. "The odds would be in our favor!"

"So," continued Twilight, "are you ready? It could get really physical."

"If it means we'll be one step closer to our goals, I'll do as much as I possibly can." answered Moonlight.

"Then let's do this!" Lunar smirked. Together, he and Twilight busted through the large, double wide doors and at the remaining foes in the room.

* * *

"C'mon, y'all!"

"Yeah, let's go find Twilight and the others!"

Applejack and Rainbow Dash led the rest of the mane six through the hallways, trying to find where Twilight and the others were. They left Blackout Crash and Bitterfly tied up back in the dungeon and locked them both in it. Rushing down the corridor, they ran into Solar and Satellite.

"Not so fast!" Solar barked, laughing evilly in the process.

"What in tarnation?"

"You're coming with us!" Satellite added, encasing the five in a magic bubble.

* * *

"Stop right there!" Cakamena ordered.

Twilight and the others lined up in front of Cakamena and Fancyvain. Twilight, Lunar, and Spike attacked Cakamena while Moonlight and Thistle attacked Fancyvain. The fight seemed to be going in the direction of Twilight and the others, until Ragity reappeared and started charging Twilight. She bumped furiously into her and knocked her down to the ground. Lunar watched as Twilight fell, then focused on Ragity. He shot some beams of alicorn magic at Ragity, but was immediately deflected by Lunar Eclipse's own magic.

"Go, Cakamena!" Ragity ordered. "Break her horn off!"

Cakamena then positioned herself as she prepared to kick Twilight's horn off. However, Twilight managed to teleport away just in time. She started charging towards Cakamena, only to be stopped by the large doors that led to the room opening. Solar and Satellite entered the room, along with Twilight's trapped friends. The two alicorn sisters casted a massive halting spell on Twilight, Lunar, Moonlight, Spike, and Thistle, smirking slyly in the process.

"It seems we've reached an impasse." Solar said. She crept up towards Twilight.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"Tell you what," continued Solar, "I'll release your friends and return them to your world on one condition: you work as our slave for the rest of eternity!"

"I'd never agree to that!" snapped Twilight.

"Well then," Satellite said, glancing at Lunar, "shall we, sister?"

"We shall!" Solar replied, grimacing at Twilight.

The two regal sisters the shot beams of magic towards Twilight and Lunar, hitting them both heavily. Twilight cried out in pain, as did Lunar, as the beams hit them both. All their friends could do was helplessly watch in horror as both Twilight and Lunar endured the pain.

"Now, let's try this again!" Satellite said.

"Work for us and we'll release your friends!" Solar yelled.

Through her pain, Twilight got up and stared into the eyes of Solar.

"No!" She screeched.

"We'll never surrender to the likes of you!" Lunar protested, not looking up from the ground. He was breathing heavily at the current moment.

"Again?" Satellite asked Solar.

"Again," Solar answered. The two diabolical sisters shot beams of magic again at Twilight and Lunar.

"Twilight!" Everypony gasped. "Lunar!"

"Stop hurting our friends!" Pinkie Pie cried.

Twilight and Lunar both screamed out in pain again. What Solar and Satellite were trying to do was turn one of the alicorns on themselves, become the opposite of what they truly were, in other words. Twilight and Lunar both did their best to try and fight against the magic but it was becoming unbearable now. The beams stopped once more as Solar and Satellite proceeded once more to ask the question, releasing Twilight and Lunar from the halting spell as well. Battered, both ponies collapsed to the ground.

"Are you willing to work for us in exchange for your friends release?" Solar barked.

Twilight stumbled to get up, falling back down a few times. Ultimately, she stood back atop her hooves and, once more, looked into Solar's cold red eyes.

"No..." She said before collapsing on the ground again.

"It's settled then!" Solar shouted as she and Satellite shot two more beams of magic towards Twilight and Lunar.

"Twilight!" Everypony cried again. "Lunar!"

The beams hit Twilight and Lunar head on, grounding them both permanently. Twilight shut her eyes, trying desperately to endure the pain being given to her while Lunar did the same.

"Stop!" shouted Rainbow Dash.

"That's enough!" added Moonlight.

"Yeah," Applejack added. "Y'all have proven yer point!"

"Stop it!" Rarity screamed.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie both screamed out in horror as they both watched their dearest friend being tormented by the beams of magic. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack all tried to bust out of the magic force field, ramming it, kicking it, and blasting it with magic. It was hard work, but they all carried on, hoping that they could break free and help their friend away.

Within minutes, the three ponies had worked themselves to pieces, but still they kept at it. Twilight and Lunar were still being blasted at by Solar and Satellite, who seemed to be gaining power the longer they struck the royal couple. It was only a matter of minutes, if not, seconds, before it would get to either Twilight or Lunar, either killing them or forcibly making them turn on themselves. With one last effort, Rainbow Dash plowed through the force field, shattering it and causing Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie to fall to the ground.

Applejack and Fluttershy charged in front of Twilight and Lunar respectively, while Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all charged towards Solar and Satellite. Applejack and Fluttershy were shot at by the magic beams, but they didn't last too long as the other three successfully stopped them. By stopping Solar and Satellite, the ponies freed Moonlight, Spike, and Thistle from their halting spell.

"How dare you!" Solar shouted.

"How dare _you_ for blasting our friends!" Rainbow Dash shot back.

"We'll teach you to mess with our friends!" Pinkie Pie snapped.

"Applejack, Fluttershy," Rarity said, "take Twilight and Lunar to a safer place! We'll handle these monsters, though I hope not to get a hoof dirty in the process. Go!"

Applejack and Fluttershy nodded. They helped Lunar up onto Applejack's back, then Twilight before moving out. The two ponies were very heavy, but Applejack has handled heavier loads in the past. Fluttershy led the way away, along with Moonlight and Thistle, as Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie all stood back and fought Solar, Satellite, and the Elements of Disharmony.

* * *

"Come on, this way!" Moonlight shouted.

Applejack, Fluttershy, Moonlight, and Thistle were in a separate room in the Canterlot Castle, a room in which Concord hid away; a room he told only Moonlight about. Inside was a table and so Applejack laid Twilight and Lunar atop the table carefully.

Both ponies still were not moving and had their eyes tightly shut. Suddenly, a magenta colored aura started emanating from Twilight's horn.

"What's going on?" Moonlight asked.

"I don't know..." Applejack answered.

"But we'd better take cover!" Fluttershy shouted, something she rarely ever does.

Everypony ducked for cover, but it was no use, for an extremely bright white light engulfed the room, much like before. With a popping sound similar to a cork being pulled from a bottle as the piece de resistance, the six of them transported away.

Within minutes, they arrived in an entirely different place. Looking around them, this place was a colorful and charming one, something Pinkie would love. A town was not too far by and so Applejack, Fluttershy, Moonlight, and Thistle started heading over to it, with Twilight and Lunar perched on Applejack's back.

"Where, oof, are we going?" Applejack asked, adjusting Twilight and Lunar slightly.

Fluttershy smiled, turning around to answer the tired pony. "Ponyville!"

"Home?" Moonlight asked, surprised.

"But it's so colorful." exclaimed Thistle.

Fluttershy giggled. "I mean our version of home."

"Oh," Moonlight responded, "makes loads more sense."

Shortly thereafter, they all arrived at Twilight's castle. Opening the door, the five went inside and Applejack placed Twilight atop a nearby table and Lunar on a nearby chair. Twilight slowly began opening her eyes afterwards and she noticed the drastic change in scenery and lighting around her. Twilight coughed upon opening her eyes, quietly asking where she was and what had happened.

"You're back home, sugarcube." Applejack answered.

"What...happened?" Twilight painfully asked.

"Solar and Satellite happened." Moonlight coldly replied.

"Where are...the others?"

The others exchanged looks between each other, not knowing exactly how to reply to that.

"Umm...what do you say we try to find a way to beat those Elements of Disharmony?" Fluttershy said.

"Using the Elements of Harmony!" Twilight suggested.

"That's an idea!" Applejack agreed.

"…were it not for the fact that they're still connected to the Tree of Harmony." Fluttershy whispered.

Twilight sighed, biting her lip in frustration. She forgot momentarily about the Elements and their current standing, so she tried to derive another plan to defeat Solar and Satellite.

"I just can't come up with anything…" Twilight admitted.

"Perhaps," coughed Lunar, opening his eyes, "it would be better to fight fire with fire."

"What do you mean?" Moonlight asked.

"I mean," continued Lunar, "what if we fought dark magic with our own?"

"But only you and Twilight have that," Applejack pointed out.

"Solar, Satellite, Ragity, and Prince Lunar all have their own dark magic." Moonlight advised.

"So then…what do we do…?" Lunar sighed, becoming frustrated from the situation.

The room stood silent for a while longer. Moonlight then got an idea.

"Perhaps your rulers could fill us in on some information." She offered.

"It may be a long shot," Twilight admitted, "but it's one of the few paths we have to go on."

"Shall we go to Canterlot then?" Fluttershy asked.

"Let's," answered Twilight. "Who knows? Maybe we can figure out something on the way."

* * *

The six finally made it into the wondrous, hustle-and-bustle city known as Canterlot. Within minutes, they arrived outside the front doors to the Canterlot Castle. Twilight and the others looked up, then at each other, nodding in the process.

"Let's go." Twilight told them.

The group of friends went inside the castle and proceeded to the throne room, of which Princess Celestia would most likely be in. Sure enough, when the six graciously entered the throne room, the alicorn that sat atop the highest throne was Princess Celestia. Her younger sister, Princess Luna, sat in the throne next to her.

"Twilight Sparkle," Celestia started, "how are you? What brings you here to Canterlot today?"

"I'm fine," Twilight replied, "and I'm here because I need your help."

"Oh? With what?" asked Celestia.

Twilight then proceeded to explain the entire story, from her becoming sick, to her and her friends traveling to an alternate world, meeting the Elements of Disharmony, and her coming back here with some of her friends still trapped in the alternate realm.

"That story is very peculiar." Celestia responded upon hearing it in its entirety. She turned to Moonlight and Thistle. "She mentioned 'Elements of Disharmony.' Can you explain what they are?"

"As you wish, Your Majesty." Moonlight responded.

"And please," Princess Luna added, "don't leave out any details."

"I'll do my best." Moonlight replied, preparing to tell her story. "The Elements of Disharmony are the corrupted versions of the Elements of Harmony. The Elements of Disharmony consist of five elements - Sadness, Betrayal, Cruelty, Dishonesty, and Selfishness - and their holders - Cakamena, Blackout Crash, Bitterfly, Fancyvain, and Ragity - who are the corrupted versions of my friends as well as the counterparts of the Elements of Harmony of this world. I was the sixth element - the Element of Magic - when the Elements of Harmony in my world weren't corrupted. When they became corrupted, Cakamena broke off my horn, forbidding me from using magic, and the rest of my friends threw me into the Canterlot Dungeons. I've been held there against my will for a number of months while Princesses Solar and Satellite took over and started their tyranny with the Elements of Disharmony acting as their right-hoof ponies. It was inside the dungeons that I met Twilight Sparkle and her friends and, together, we've been able to escape and come here."

Celestia looked down at the little purple colored unicorn.

"That's pretty much what happened up until this point." Moonlight finished.

"Well," started Celestia, "it sounds rather odd, the Elements of Disharmony, but since there are only five of them compared to the six Elements of Harmony, I can't see why you won't defeat them if you use them. But that in itself raises a problem as well."

"We were hoping you could assist us in coming up with another plan, Princess," Lunar said, "we've come up with a few ideas ourselves, but they wouldn't work in the long run."

"You mentioned that there are four ponies who could use dark magic during explanation, Twilight Sparkle," Princess Luna repeated. She turned to Celestia. "What if we travel with them to that realm and assist Twilight Sparkle and Lunar Nights in their quest to bring back harmony to those ponies?"

"It is a possibility," Princess Celestia replied. She contemplated the idea. "Tell you what," she paused as she turned to Twilight, "I'll send you back to the other world, using my magic. I will join you as soon as I can with Princess Luna. Hopefully, you can save that world and your friends while returning here."

"Thank you very much, Princess Celestia!" Twilight answered.

"One more thing before I send you," Celestia asked.

"What is it?"

Celestia continued, "Just in case you manage to complete your task before we arrive, here is how to perform the spell."

* * *

"Let us go!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity were all tied together, making things hard, moving wise. Solar paced around the three ponies while the Elements of Disharmony were overwatching. Looking directly into Rainbow Dash's cerise colored eyes, Solar answered the Pegasus' ridiculous question.

"Why on earth would I let you go?" She asked. "Half of the Elements of Harmony are tied down!"

Rainbow Dash scoffed, "When we get out of this-"

"How are you going to escape?" Satellite teased.

"You have as much chance of escaping as Concord has at being freed." Lunar Eclipse smirked.

Rainbow bit her tongue, knowing quite well that her mouth was digging her into a very deep hole.

Suddenly, a blinding white light shone in front of Solar, Satellite, Lunar Eclipse, the Elements of Disharmony, and the tied up ponies. Using the white light, Rainbow Dash expanded her wings, which managed to cut through the rope, freeing Pinkie Pie, Rarity, as well as herself. The three of them headed over towards the light, stopping and turning around. They were assuming that this light was the work of Twilight, hoping that she was coming back to help them out.

When the light finally uplifted, in front of Solar, Satellite, Lunar Eclipse, and the Elements of Disharmony stood Twilight Sparkle, Lunar Nights, Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, Moonlight Twinkle, and Thistle. Standing side-by-side, Twilight spoke up first.

"I have returned!" She said. "And we shall defeat you!"

"Oh, how cute." Solar replied, rolling her eyes.

"We may be slightly outnumbered," Lunar added, standing next to Twilight, "but our determination will ultimately lead to your downfall and restoration of this world."

"You must be dreaming." Lunar Eclipse scoffed.

Solar turned to Ragity, telling her to go retrieve the Elements of Disharmony.

"Right away, Your Highness." answered Ragity.

The mane six and Lunar stood aligned from left to right, with Moonlight, Thistle, and Spike standing close by. The Elements of Disharmony aligned across from the mane six. Once Ragity returned with the five Elements, she gave them to their respective holder.

"Betrayal!" Blackout Crash shouted upon receiving her Element.

"Cruelty!" Bitterfly added.

"Selfishness!" said Ragity.

"Dishonesty!" Fancyvain added.

"Sadness! Cakamena concluded.

Standing next to their other fellow Element holders, side by side, the Elements of Harmony and the Elements of Disharmony stared blankly at each other, more specifically, their counterpart, waiting for the other to make a move. Solar and Satellite stood close by as they were preparing themselves to help out the Elements of Disharmony, just in case something were to go wrong.

The fight between Harmony and Disharmony started with Rainbow Dash and Blackout Crash attacking each other. Rainbow charged towards Blackout, knocking her down to the ground as Ragity sent some magic beams towards Rarity. Twilight and Lunar both took care of Bitterfly while Pinkie Pie dealt with Cakamena. Applejack charged towards Fancyvain, who refused to fight, for fear that she'd stain her dress. Fluttershy, although desperately wanting to help her friends, hid in shame for assuming she would be of no help at all.

Twilight sent a beam of magical energy over towards Bitterfly, successfully hitting her mark. In response, Bitterfly got back up on her hooves and charged towards Twilight, who teleported away just in the nick of time. Upon teleporting to her destination, Twilight and Lunar sent over a conjoined beam of magical energy over towards Bitterfly. This beam was more powerful and Bitterfly could sense it, for she remained on the ground after the hit because she endured too much pain.

Solar and Satellite, who were overlooking the entire fight, saw Bitterfly and Blackout Crash be defeated as if they were nothing. They also saw how Fancyvain refused to fight.

"Come, sister!" Solar shouted. "Let us help them out! They need it!"

Solar and Satellite then started charging towards Twilight and Lunar, only to be stopped by two beams of magical energy, one white, one a very dark indigo, hitting them. Twilight turned around and saw that the two beams came from Princes Celestia and Princess Luna.

"Princess Celestia," She questioned, "thank heavens you're here."

Celestia smiled, "No problem, Twilight." She turned to her sister. "Come, Luna, let us help the ponies out."

Twilight smiled back, then faced Cakamena, who was giving Pinkie Pie a run for her money. Twilight charged at Cakamena. Cakamena saw Twilight charging and jumped out of the way at the last second, tripping Twilight in the process.

"Twilight!" Pinkie Pie called.

"Look out, Twily!" Lunar added.

Twilight looked up as she saw Cakamena preparing to kick off her horn. She rolled out of harm's way at the last second and stared angrily at her.

"I'll teach you to mess with my Twilight!" Lunar angrily shouted. He then sent over a powerful magical beam towards Cakamena, whom couldn't handle the strength of said beam.

Solar and Satellite were displeased with how the Elements of Disharmony performed and, with Lunar Eclipse, stood in front of the collapsed villains.

"Charming," Solar smirked, "those pitiful ponies couldn't finish the job."

"So let us finish what they started." Satellite laughed.

"And we won't fail!" Lunar Eclipse shouted, casting a wave of dark magic around the room.

The room became shrouded in pitch black. Twilight and company became nervous since they were unable to see where Solar, Satellite, and Lunar were. They began to create the illusion that they were everywhere in the room, when in reality, they were hovering above the others.

"Take this!" Lunar Eclipse shouted, casting powerful dark spells on Twilight and Lunar.

Princess Luna observed the spell and casted a massive defensive shield over everypony. She smirked, then faced Lunar Eclipse.

"Predictable," Luna replied. She flashed her eyes a bright white color, then revealed Solar, Satellite, and Lunar to the rest of the group.

"Great." Solar smirked.

"Exactly," Princess Celestia remarked, casting a powerful halting spell on Solar, Satellite, and Lunar.

The three evil alicorns grunted, trying to escape the clutches of Princess Celestia's magic. Princess Luna smiled, then proceeded to help her sister by casting a backup halting spell on all three alicorns as well.

Solar, Satellite, and Lunar Eclipse were all left helpless as they were being held down by Celestia's and Luna's magic. Twilight and Lunar, holding hooves, casted a powerful, joint spell on Solar, Satellite, and Lunar.

"Noooo!" Satellite shouted.

"It can't be!" added Solar. "It just can't!"

Some time later, both Solar and Satellite had vanished and the Elements of Disharmony appeared to look different as well as Lunar Eclipse. One notable difference was Cakamena's mane style; it had matched Pinkie's mane style perfectly!

"Ugh..." Ragity groaned. "What happened?"

Moonlight and Thistle ran over to all their friends, knowing that they had been transformed back into what they once were.

"Oh, Scarcity, Greybow, Fancyjane, Curebug, Party Cake, Lunar!" Moonlight called. "You're all alright!"

"Why, whatever do you mean?" Fancyjane asked.

Moonlight looked at Thistle, smiled and winked at him, them back at Fancyjane.

"I'll explain everything later." She answered.

"What about Concord?" Twilight asked. "Do you know where he is?"

"Oh," replied Moonlight, "I almost forgot! Here, let me show you where he is."

* * *

The large group of ponies, aided by Moonlight Twinkle and accompanied by Celestia and Luna, soon arrived at the statue of Concord. Using the Elements of Harmony of this realm as well as the magic of friendship between everypony, Twilight and Moonlight were able to free Concord of his stone state.

"Why, I cannot thank you enough for freeing me from that wretched thing Solar and Satellite trapped me in." Concord started. "How ever can I repay you?"

"It's quite alright." Twilight answered. "We're just happy we could be of assistance."

Concord smiled, "Now let us return peace and tranquility here in Equestria!"

Everypony cheered as they heard this wonderful news.

* * *

Later that day, Moonlight and her friends paid Twilight and her friends their respect as they were preparing to leave.

"Thank you," Moonlight started, "all of you. I don't know what we - err - I would've done without you. I am deeply grateful you showed up and helped me out. You saved not only my friends, but all of Equestria with it from the wrath of Solar and Satellite."

"Thank you very much." Everypony said.

"You're quite welcome." Twilight replied. She turned towards her friends. "I guess it's time we leave. You all ready?"

"Ready." They replied.

"Well," continued Twilight, "I hope we get to meet sometime in the future. I'll miss you all so very much, even though we've only known each other for a short time."

"I'll miss you too, Twilight." Moonlight replied, hugging her counterpart.

Twilight then positioned herself in front of her friends as she prepared to transport all of them home. It was hard work, but with Lunar's help, the duo successfully managed to transport everypony home, including Celestia and Luna.

Upon arriving home, Celestia praised Twilight for overcoming such a difficult task.

"I knew you could do it, Twilight!" She praised as Twilight and her friends began making their way home.

"Thank you, Princess Celestia!" Twilight answered.

With that said, Twilight and Lunar both left the Canterlot throne room and headed on home, thinking about their new friends, especially Moonlight Twinkle.

"Think we'll ever see them again, Spike?" Twilight asked.

She heard no answer for a while, making her turn her head and see where her baby dragon assistant was. When she failed to find him, Twilight remembered what had happened.

"Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed. "We forgot Spike in the other world!"

* * *

The End!


	12. The Lunar Guard

_**The Lunar Guard**_

* * *

 _ **Taken aghast by how popular yours truly has become over the last three years - whether it be on here, on the book of face, or on the tube of you - let us alter our reality just slightly. No, not with the Reality Gauntlet - save that one for Freakshow. I'm sure he'll enjoy being the Ringmaster of all reality...oh wait - but with a little bit of writer's intuition, if you may. Heh, it works wonders for the X-Men series and the Fast & Furious series, so why not here? Either way, our main protagonist has yet to see his beloved. In fact, he knows not of her. He hasn't even been taken under another one's wing. He was born an alicorn, but only in this universe.**_

 _ **Now that the setting has been somewhat sprinkled in for you, let us begin, shall we?**_

* * *

 _Amazing, honestly...where does the time go?_

"Glow sticks, here! Get your glow sticks here!"

 _Hmm...DJ Pon-3 must be performing here tonight-err-later on._

The name is Lunar Nights and I am an alicorn. I was born that way, thanks to a "disfigurement" of my genetic makeup; my mother and father are both unicorns... _were_ both unicorns. I tend to keep my wings under a cloak. It's much easier passing off as a unicorn than an alicorn. Most ponies have never seen one and usually tie them into royalty, but I am not royal at all. I walk endlessly throughout this country, doing work for anyone who needs it most. I am a man-for-hire, mainly for the work that no one else enjoys doing.

I'm on a job now actually. I was sent to obtain a powerful item that could be used for any purpose: the alicorn amulet. That amulet has such a colorful history, if you like the color red that is. That amulet, when worn around the neck of a unicorn, can make them as powerful as an alicorn. But, there is a catch: the more they use it, the more it corrupts them. Honestly I couldn't care less who possessed the amulet - it's in my bag currently - since I am not one to ask for answers. I get sent to do my work and nothing more.

I was on my way to meet my current boss. She seemed to be odd, claiming that the amulet was once hers, but fell into the wrong hooves. They claimed to me that it was kept in hiding for a long time. Apparently to her, "kept in hiding" means "sent out of the country" since the amulet was found in the Griffon Kingdom. Some search, if you ask me.

Entering into the alley we discussed about earlier, I knocked on the lid of a trash can the way we promised. Out from the shadows emerged my boss. I normally would have declined this job since I don't work for female bosses, but she insisted on paying me handsomely for this amulet. She had on a black cloak, matching mine perfectly, as we began discussing.

"Do you have the amulet?" she asked.

I revealed the amulet to her by moving my cloak out of the way briefly. She smiled her bright, evil smile as I proceeded to again hide the amulet.

"Excellent job," she praised. I rolled my eyes because nearly all of my work is 'excellent.' She reached for a bag that appeared to be heavy. "This is for you, as promised."

She dropped the bag in front of me as I peered into it to make sure that the pay wasn't fraudulent. As a rebel, I know my stuff. After I determined that the pay was good, I revealed the amulet to her again and levitated it to her, transferring the possession halfway. Seeing my white aura be engulfed by sky blue aura, I knew the job was done.

"A pleasure doing business with you, rebel," she smirked, teleporting out of the alley without her cloak.

I rolled my eyes, then lifted the bag of bits with my magic. I dumped the pay into my bag halfway, making the carrying easier for me. I work alone and have always worked alone, but sometimes-rarely-I come across a job where the pay is heavy enough to render me motionless. Carrying the pay in two bags, though more dangerous, would be a lot easier than carrying it in one. I sighed, leaving the alley for my secret hideout at the edge of town.

 _Hopefully my next job will be more interesting than a plain hide-and-seek find..._

* * *

I dropped off my pay at my hideout in solitude and began walking around again in my cloak. I went to the south end of town, knowing that area like the back of my hoof. This is usually the area I get most of my work; it's very rare I don't get work here. I sat on a bench and waited. Most know me here and, if they wanted something done, they knew where to find me.

I had my cloak cover my face, but the moonlight shone just enough to surrender facial expressions to any client. I sat down for maybe forty minutes before someone sat down next to me. I didn't look up from my expressionless stare, but did acknowledge the partner.

"Who sent you?"

"Someone worthy of a job," they responded.

"What kind of job?" I asked.

"One that will pay greatly," they answered, "though not in the way you are used to."

 _Hmm..._ I thought. _Are they telling the truth?_ "Who sent you?"

The unknown mortal handed me a scroll. It was a dark colored scroll, but a scroll nonetheless. Unraveling the scroll, I noticed that there was, in bright red letters, a warrant for my arrest.

 _It's a trap!_

I quickly glanced at the traitor next to me, who had a dagger in their hoof. I brushed them back, knocking them down before rushing off into the night.

"Catch that alicorn!" They shouted, regaining their composure. The call summoned at least thirty guards to rush after me.

 _They know I'm not a unicorn!?_ I grunted, spreading my wings and taking off into the sky.

"After him!"

Using my sense of hearing, I heard wings flapping in the air behind me. There weren't that many guards in the air - about half the number that were chasing me on the ground - but still, I flew on, trying to evade and escape the clutches of these ignorant guards.

"Now!"

 _What's goin-WHOA!_

To my surprise, guards started teleporting all around me; I had become surrounded!

 _But how...?_

My questioning allowed the guards to rapidly take me down. After colliding with the ground, opening some scars and some wounds, bleeding out, but not enough to die, the despicable creature I met prior towered over me.

"Strange how a bunch of unicorn guards can teleport a bunch of pegasus guards to take down one of the most notorious criminals this country has ever seen." He was speaking out of sarcasm and insulting my name. "I take great pride in delivering you to your dungeon master."

"Pitiful excuse of a man," I lashed, "trying to stain the name in which I do good in."

"Good?" He repeated, laughing. "Boy, you just sold a priceless artifact to one of our undercover operatives. Who do you think got the bits for her? We knew you would never take the bait as it was, so we upped the ante and tripled the buyout for you, hoping you would be selfish enough to bite at it. Funny how all it takes is just a few extra bits."

"Pathetic," I continued, giving up on any means of escaping, "who is it that you work for, bounty hunter?"

"I work for the highest command there is in the land!" The pony replied, lifting their helmet from their head. He had a long blue mane with a few highlights in it. The mark he wore was a star on a shield. He towered over me more and began to insult me further. "You'll always be less of a pony than an unborn filly."

"So says you," I coughed. Dust had flown into my mouth and made it dry.

"Get up," he ordered, "by order of the rulers of the land, I, Shining Armor, do hereby place you under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you."

"Enough with the rights," I sighed, adjusting my grip on the ground, "I know them already."

"Then move, prisoner," Shining Armor pushed, "lucky for you that it isn't long at all."

I rolled my eyes, then tried moving my shackle-locked hooves. This wasn't the first time I found myself in shackles. Being a bounty hunter and a glimmer in the shadow world definitely calls for a run-in with the law every now and then. No one said that this job and life style would be an easy one. I obliged to the harsh demands Shining Armor gave, walking to the prison yet again.

* * *

"Get in there," Shining Armor pushed me, "you'll be summoned when needed."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, walking over to the old bed. Ever since I arrived in town, this bed has probably seen me more than any other prisoner that revolved into and out of this penitentiary.

"Lunar," a voice called, "that you?"

"Yeah, Midnight," I replied, "they got me again."

"Damn man," Midnight chuckled, "and here I thought I'd get to see ya tomorrow."

"Your release is tomorrow?" I asked. This was information he never told me.

"Yeah," he said, "I'll be free of these bars and can restart my business. You know you still owe me, right?"

"Yeah, I know," I laughed. We joked about a previous job we were both hired to do often. On it, Midnight was at the brink of death, needing to be saved by me and then, ironically, the tables turned and it was I who needed to be saved by him, though my wings did about half the job for him. "I'll buy you a drink when we-"

"Nights!" Shining Armor called. "You're wanted for questioning!"

"Will you be doing the honors?" I sarcastically asked.

"Oh, we got a comedian, huh?" Shining Armor smirked. He opened my cell door and approached me. "Well, here's my punchline." Literally speaking, he punched me in my gut.

The pain was somewhat bearable, but was definitely deserved. He blinded me with a blindfold and then dragged me elsewhere.

"Good luck, Lunar!" Midnight said before the door to our cells was slammed shut.

* * *

Something didn't seem right as I was being dragged away from my cell. The journey to the interrogation room was far longer than I previously remember. Shining Armor tied my wings to my sides and was escorting me to some place other than the interrogation room I was familiar with.

"Where are we?" I asked after tense silence.

I received no answer as Shining Armor continued to escort me. He pushed me up some stairs and, after hearing doors open, our hoofsteps began echoing throughout the hallway we had entered.

 _No,_ I thought, _he couldn't be this stupid, could he? Why bring me here?_

A few minutes later, another set of doors opened up and, again, our hoofsteps echoed throughout this hall. We walked straight for quite some time before he stopped me, sweeping my leg and making me fall into a bowing position. He removed my blindfold, revealing to me where we were.

"This-"

"Quiet, prisoner." Shining Armor commanded.

 _This is the castle,_ I thought again, _why would you bring me here?_

"Presenting the Queen of the Day," Shining Armor declared, "the Sun Goddess herself, Princess Celestia!"

The tall white alicorn entered shortly after her presentation and sat atop her throne. Shining Armor cleared his throat, then proceeded with introductions.

"Presenting the Queen of the Night," he continued, "the Moon Goddess, Princess Luna."

A tall, indigo colored alicorn entered as well shortly after her presentation, sitting atop her own throne that was next to Celestia's. Shining Armor then forced me to look up, eyeing both princesses.

"Rebel Lunar Nights," Shining Armor said, "captured and brought to you as you wished, Your Highnesses."

"Excellent work, Shining Armor," praised Celestia.

"Sir Lunar Nights," Luna began, "do you understand why you are here?"

"To pay my debt to society for all crimes held accountable by yours truly?" I asked. "Need I add that not all my work has been illegal and that I have done just as much good as bad."

"Silence, prisoner," Shining Armor commanded, striking my left wing.

"At ease, Shining Armor," ordered Celestia. She looked towards me next. "You, Lunar Nights, are here because we've heard of all your work."

"Clearly," I spoke under my own breath.

"We know about the good you've done, Sir Lunar Nights," added Luna, "and we wish to offer a proposition for you."

"What?" Shining Armor exclaimed.

"What is your proposition?" I asked.

"Should you choose to accept," Luna continued, "we wish for you to work for us. If you choose to decline, you shall be sentenced to whatever punishment our sister has in thought for you."

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, Your Highness," I said, "but you just returned from...?"

"My sister has indeed returned from her punishment," Celestia answered for us, "and it is exactly why we offer this job to you."

"You could have anyone in this country." I told her. "Why choose me?"

"Because, going by your track record," Celestia continued, "you are skilled in being loyal to who it is that you work for."

"Yeah...?"

"It is that loyalty we seek for as my sister begins transitioning through and readjusts to life once more."

I looked around, staring blankly at Celestia. Surely this wasn't really happening.

"So," I sighed, "let me get this straight."

Celestia nodded. "Go ahead."

"If I _choose_ to work for you-"

"Princess Luna." Celestia corrected.

"Princess Luna," I continued, "I will be forgiven of my negative actions committed in society?"

"To an extent," Celestia said.

"How so?"

"You will be given a royal pardon." She answered.

"Same difference," I stated, moving on with my point, "but if I choose to _decline_...?"

"Then, seeing how you're in our custody," said Celestia, "we will return you to a maximum security prison cell, making escape nearly impossible."

I looked down, rolling my eyes so that the two alicorns could not see it. The very decision that Celestia was giving me was, in simpler terms, freedom or imprisonment. Logically, it left me with no choice. Morally, however, I would not work for mares, like I said. Call it what you may, but I've not had a pleasant track history when my boss was a mare. Things always went wrong when my boss was a mare. But, alas, I have no choice - no optimal choice anyway - and so, my future has been determined.

"The services of yours truly shall be offered in exchange for freedom and pardoning of all crimes done previously." I said, bowing to Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. "I just request one thing before I fully offer my services."

"And what might that be?" asked the tall white alicorn.

"I request the ability to use my items." I stated. "I wish to have my cloak and my helmet most. I can always obtain another bag elsewhere, but my cloak and helmet must be returned to me."

"Fair enough," Celestia obliged, "my Royal Guards have helmets and armor of their own to wear, so I don't see why I should object to such requests. Fine...you may go and reobtain your belongings that you've requested and then return to this room immediately." She turned to Shining Armor. "Have one of your other guards escort Lunar Nights to obtain his belongings."

"At your command, Princess," Shining Armor bowed.

I smirked slightly as I was escorted out of the room by a different guard. Shining Armor seemed very displeased and turned towards the two alicorns as I exited the room.

 _Let's see how this job goes..._

* * *

 _ **~Inside the throne room~**_

"With all due respect, Princess, I don't think this is such a great idea."

"And what makes you think that, Shining Armor?" Celestia asked.

Shining Armor sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "He's a rebel. Who's to say that he doesn't betray Princess Luna or attempt an escape?"

"You heard him yourself," Luna stated, "the nobility and loyalty of his kind shan't be betrayed. If it were to become compromised, his life would be the price of such acts."

"You don't know my gut feeling," Shining Armor protested.

"And thou knows not of pony rebels." Luna defended. She remembered prior to her banishment how pony rebels were common. They were like knights-for-hire. She also remembered how there were griffons, wolves, ponies, and changelings that used to do such work. "They are more loyal than even the most loyal of subjects or guards."

"Easy for you to say," Shining Armor talked back, "you know not of these pony guards."

"Shining Armor!" Celestia scolded.

"Be that as it may," he continued, "I won't allow for a rebel to protect anypony, even if it is you." He pointed to Luna. Without saying another word, Shining Armor left the throne room and stood by his post, waiting for Lunar Nights and Misty Fog to return.

Another guard, Fiery Will, stood by Shining Armor at their post. He sensed that Shining Armor was displeased and approached him on it.

"Something on your mind, Sergeant?" He asked.

"Contact Captain Thunder," Shining Armor requested, "I have news for him."

"Yes sir," Fiery Will acknowledged, leaving to go contact the captain of the Royal Guard.

 _He'll do something about this,_ Shining Armor thought. He remained positioned at his station until Lunar Nights returned.

* * *

"Ahh...it's nice to have you back."

My cloak was back around my body as it once was; I don't like showing my wings to others. I put my helmet on delicately, not to hurt my horn. The helmet was made out of metal and too much metal contact in a fraction of a second could lead to a magical interference. My way to counter that obstacle is to place my helmet slowly and gently on my head. I've done it that way since I could remember.

"Come on," the guard stated, "you're wanted back in the castle."

"Yeah, yeah," I sighed, "I know."

This guard pushed me towards the castle again, but this journey was less forced as the last one wih Shining Armor. Now, I made my way not as a prisoner, but as a potential worker for one the highest ranking officials in the country: Princess Luna.

* * *

 _ **~Back inside the castle~**_

"My liege," I stated, bowing to Princess Luna in return, "I have returned."

"Excellent, Sir Nights," Luna responded.

Looking up, I saw Celestia hover something in front of me. Glancing at it, I noticed that I was given a contract. Celestia then hovered a quill next to me, to which I took with my magic.

"Once you sign at the bottom," Celestia said, "you'll be working for Princess Luna as her personal guard."

I read through the contract and noted a few key points: ultimate loyalty to Luna, abiding to the royal law, paying my debt to society, and completion of service through death or satisfaction, whichever was to come first. I dipped the edge of the quill in a nearby ink vile, signing my name at the bottom of the contract.

Celestia took the contract and smiled at me. Luna rose from her throne and started to approach me. I bowed down yet again and hung my head as Luna neared me, as folks of old time tended to do when in the presence of royalty. Bowing her head and touching my shoulders with her horn, Luna began giving me the title of Royal Guard.

"With this declaration, I dub thee Sir Lunar Nights, Royal Lunar Guard of the night," she said, "to protect, to serve, and to honor thyself."

"To protect, to serve, and to honor thou," I repeated.

Raising myself, I bowed to Luna again before she went back to her throne to sit. She looked to the area next to her, then motioned for me to stand in that area. I nodded, accepting my post and standing watch over Luna.

Though she has only been back a short amount of time, there has already been numerous amounts of threats made against Luna. Most of the land thought she might return to her evil ways and become her corrupted form - Nightmare Moon - once again. Honestly, I couldn't care less who she was. All I know was that I was hired to do one job and I was going to make sure I did that job the best I could, even if it resulted in my death.

There was a long silence as Celestia left the room to go lower the moon and raise the sun, leaving myself alone with Luna. I kept a stern look on my face as I stared straight ahead towards the door, checking for any and all subjects that entered, were there to be any. Luna, sighing slightly, tried stirring up a conversation.

"Sir Nights," she called.

"My liege," I replied.

"Why is it that you do what you do?"

I looked at her with a somewhat quizzical expression. "By what definition is it that you seek from me?" It was a bit more difficult answering in the language she was used to hearing for so long, but I tried my best to do so anyway.

"Why live the life of a rebel?" Luna asked. "A Merc, as we believe it once was called."

Merc...haven't heard that word in a very long time. I looked straight ahead again, trying to find an answer, though the search didn't last all that long.

"I do this in the hopes of delivering what it right in the world."

"But thy sister has told us that the work thou hast done prior has been..." She scrated her chin a bit, trying to find the right words. Fortunately for her, I knew what she was trying to get at.

"Mixed?"

"Precisely," the princess answered, "If thou wishes to do what is morally correct in the world, why live life as a Merc? Surely there has to be more ways for thou to do good in this realm."

"I didn't say 'morally correct,' Your Highness," I corrected, "I said 'delivering what is right.'"

"Pray tell then," Luna said seconds after I finished speaking, "what dost thou believe is right?"

"Whatever the boss wants it to be," I replied, "I've worked for some that have wanted to deliever peace to their realm, but I've also worked on the flip side of that and have done dirty work for tyrants, such as Discord or the dastardly King of Crystals. I do what I am hired to do and whatever that may be, as long as the boss at the time believes that it is right, then I do it without hesitation." I paused briefly. "Tell me, Princess, have you heard of the Midnight Creed?"

"Midnight Creed?" repeated Luna. She shook her head. "What is this Midnight Creed that which you speak?"

I turned my head towards Luna. "Basically, the Midnight Creed is an oath, if you will, that all rebels take before doing their work and business. Each rebel must recite the creed before being accepted as one in the dark world."

"And what is this creed, Sir Nights?"

I lifted my arm to my heart and recited the creed. "As a member of the dark world, I pledge to do right in the world through the one in charge. We decline questioning all actions and nary room for any second thoughts. We do good for others through them, no matter the cost. We pledge to risk our lives for those we serve and serve them until the job is done or until the light comes for us. Should the servees be displeased with our services, we will be banished from the dark world, tossed aside and slain of our good names."

Luna's interest seemed to have piqued as I recited the creed. She understood what I meant when I finished it; it meant death to us if our services were sub-par or undesirable.

"When did thou join said dark world?" Luna continued.

Sternly, I answered back. "The moment my parents died."

Luna gasped. "We are so sorry to hear about the passing of thou's parents."

"It's okay, Your Highness," I said, shaking my head, "those that were responsible for their deaths have been brought to justice by myself. They have been given the ultimate punishment."

"Did you-" There was a long pause.

"If you're attempting to ask if I killed them," I continued, "the answer is no. That would have been too easy and nice of a punishment to deliver."

"Then what hath thou done to them?"

"I watched onward as I saw their world slowly crumble before them." I answered. "I watched their home burn down, their belongings burn or be stolen, and I saw them slowly descend into madness. They begged for death, but I didn't offer it. A slow, painful death was what they deserved and, after stabbing them with my sword, I left them to die in the way I desired."

Luna was taken aghast by my comments. I take it that she doesn't like stories of death and distress. I continued watching over the doors, protecting Luna as well. She looked my way and continued making small talk.

"Why is it those wings are covered by time cloak?" She wondered.

"It's much easier to explain why I have a horn instead of showing both." I answered.

"How so?"

"Most assume alicorns as having to do with royalty," I explained, "but as you can very much see, I am not royalty in any way."

"But thou art truly a noble being." Luna claimed.

"Noble in the sense that I'm loyal," I responded,"nevertheless, I do as I'm told to do. My job is to do better in the eyes of those that which I work for."

Luna paused slightly. "Would thou return it for anything?"

I looked at her blankly. "What do you mean?"

"Would...you...umm..." She tried speaking in present day terms, finding it much difficult than she thought.

"Would I change my past?" I asked. "Is that what you wish to ask?"

Luna nodded. "Surely thine past is not how things thineself hath imagined."

"You're right, Princess," I said, "It's not. But in all honesty, I wouldn't change any of it. I chose to embark on this journey of never ending jobs. It allowed me to travel all over the country and to far off lands. I've seen things others never get to see in their lives. Hell, that lifestyle, as oddly as it can be at times, it led me to serve you. The dark world and their underlings never imagine working for anyone of royalty. We usually expect work from evil doers or those that have the bits to throw away."

The next few minutes were deafening silence. I continued watching over Luna, doing the job I was hired to do.

* * *

 _ **~Elsewhere in the castle~**_

Shining Armor and the captain, Thunder Storm, were walking alongside one another, patrolling the castle perimeter, as per their duties. Shining Armor alerted the captain of the events that unfolded the prior evening and shared his concern for Celestia, but not so much for Luna.

"Were it just Luna," Thunder said, "I would not care."

"But since Celestia is here too..." Shining Armor added.

"Then his presence is truly unacceptable," finished Thunder, "someone of his kind must never stand so close to royalty. For all we know, he could betray Celestia and strike her down! He is an outlaw and nothing more!"

"I'm surprised, in all honesty," admitted Shining Armor, "when Celestia requested a personal guard for Luna, I thought it would be you or another guard doing that job, not some low life, outlaw merc."

"Don't worry, Sergeant," Thunder replied, "I have something up my sleeve that will end up with that outlaw out of here."

"What do you plan on-"

"Captain Thunder!"

Both officers turned around and saw another one of their guards rushing towards them. He was out of breath, but was determined to push beyond his limits.

"What is it, Corporal?" Thunder called.

"Sir," the tired guard gasped, "we have word that a group of terrorists are looking to make claim towards the life of Princess Luna. They're making their way here as we speak, sir!"

"Towards Luna?" Thunder repeated. He started hatching an idea in his head.

"Affirmative, Sir!"

Thunder was delighted. "Let that outlaw deal with them. We have some training to do. Report to the training grounds immediately!"

"B-but sir-"

"No buts, Corporal," Thunder continued, asserting his title, "you heard my orders."

"Sir, yes sir!" The corporal then started to report to the training grounds.

Shining Armor smirked. Thunder chuckled as well, seeing everything go in order as if it were clockwork. "Let him deal with it. If he fails, then it becomes a win-win for us."

Slyly laughing, Captain Thunder went to the training fields for the daily training routines. Shining Armor, although following Captain Thunder, stood silent.

* * *

 _ **~Back inside the throne room~**_

Talk about a boring job. I don't understand why the alicorn sisters needed me to protect Luna here. Who was making threats against her?

Luna rose from her throne and kindly looked towards me. "Sir Nights?"

"Yes, Your Highness?" I replied.

"Could you escorting us outside?" Luna asked. "We wish to take grasp some of this summertime air our sister hath brought."

Bowing, I accepted Luna's request. "As you wish, my liege." I then began taking her outside, still guarding her and watching over her.

As we exited the throne room, I noticed that the hallways were empty.

 _That's odd,_ I thought, _there should be a guard here as per Celestia's orders._

I put the thought of no guards aside as I escorted Luna to the courtyard. As we walked through the halls, all that could be heard were the steps we were taking. I became curious as we continued our journey to the courtyard.

"Forgive me for asking, Your Highness," I said, "but why did you get banished to the moon?"

I didn't see, but I heard Luna gulp. I wasn't too sure if I had overstepped my boundaries.

"Much apologies, Princess, if you wish not to speak about it."

"No," Luna responded, "tis fine, Sir Nights. We were banished...for acting out against our sister..." Luna paused, but I knew that this was tough for her to admit. "We feared of being left in the shadows and became a shadow of our former self..."

"At least you're back now, right?"

"Nay, Sir Nights," answered Luna, "we may be back, but our reputation is not as it once was. Our name has been slandered because of what we became long ago. Thy subjects have abandoned us and fear we may fall again."

"Honestly, Your Highness," I continued, "forget them. They don't understand regality when they see it."

"Tell us, Sir Nights," Luna said quickly, "art thou a creature of our night?"

"The dark world dwells in the night," I answered, "it is our haven, so to speak."

"Would thou like our night more than thy sister's day?"

"I love the night, Your Highness," I said, "but I don't get why you're asking me this. In all honesty, Princess, you should be honored that your subjects rejuvenate through the night. They get tired during the day and recharge and feel refreshed through the night. But, in all honesty, I get where you come from. Look at me: my name revolves around the night. I have a black cloak to hide my wings and a black helmet to cover my face. My sword is black and it's sheath is also black. I'm the perfect example of-" I paused when I began hearing something abnormal. Stopping Luna with my arm, I tried listening to the abnormal sound more.

"What's the problem, Sir Nights?" Luna asked.

In a whisper, I answered the alicorn. "We have company."

I pushed Luna to the wall and told her to follow me closely. I peered my head around the corner of the hall we were in and saw six individuals rushing this way. Looking back towards Luna, I told her to stay put while it went out. Obliging to my comment, Luna stood her ground. I walked around the corner and eyed the six rushers.

"Get out of the way!" The lead one shouted.

"We're here for Luna!" Another one added.

"I can't allow for that to happen." I bluntly replied.

"Get out of our way!" The lead one snobbishly stated again.

"I'd suggest you leave now or risk dire consequences." I threatened.

"Move now or risk trampling!"

"If you want Princess Luna," I said, taking a defensive stance and gripping my sword, "You'll have to go through me!"

"And what makes you say that?" The lead rusher smirked, entering and attacking stance.

"Because I am here to guard the Princess with my life and i won't allow scum like you to lay a single hair on her!" I shouted, gripping my sword tighter now.

"Wrong choice, bub!" The leader shouted, jumping through the air.

I drew my sword and slashed at the pouncer. The other five jumped at once and forced me to utilize some magic. After teleporting a short distance backwards, I swung my sword and lashed at two of the other pouncers, cutting them open and making them bleed out. I looked to my left and saw the fourth pouncer kicking my sword, trying to knock it away from me, but my grasp was too strong. Performing evasive maneuvers from the final pouncer, I dodged the attacks and watched as they collided, dazing each other in the process. I used my sword with sleight and held it to the throat of the two remaining jumpers.

"Do you concede?" I said, holding the sword closer to the left one's throat.

"Ignorant excuse of a life!" He spat at me. "For shame on you to defend a traitor in Luna! You deserve to-"

Without allowing to finish his slandering statement, I swung my sword through his heart, driving it deep into his body and piercing through to the other side.

"Let your own words ring through your ears and torture your burning soul down to a pulp," I said through my bloody helmet, "Let your burnt soul tear through your skin and let it pierce through your heart like. My. Knife!" I yanked the sword out of the jumper's body and let the blood drip down onto him slowly. Towering over the fallen foes, I shook my head in disgust at them. "And you claim to be followers of the Sun Goddess...have mercy on your souls." I turned around and went back to get Luna. "Your Highness?"

"Goodness," gasped the princess. She got a glimpse of the carnage in the around adjacent hallway.

"Forgive us for what we've done," I said, bowing to the princess and taking off my blood-covered helmet.

Looking around to the maimed bodies, Luna rose me, forgiving my actions. I bowed again to her, continuing to escort her to the courtyard. The remainder of the journey was silent and I honestly didn't mind it. Somehow, I knew that conversation would strike up again.

Out in the courtyard, there were plenty of stone statues and perfectly kept shrubs. There was a stone statue that really took my attention, so I decided to ask about it. The statue was that of someone that I used to work for long ago. It intrigued me because I had not known of a statue bearing his honor.

"Your Highness," I began, walking alongside Luna.

"Yes, Sir Nights?" She responded.

"Who is that built for?" I asked, pointing again to the very same statue.

"That ruffian inside the statue is Discord," Luna answered, "he hath been imprisoned for some time now."

"Discord?" I repeated, receiving a nod from Luna.

"Is there a problem, Sir Nights?"

"I used to work for Discord," I explained, "he made me do what you would consider awful things."

"Awful things?" Luna repeated.

"Yes," I acknowledged, "but it is against the creed for me to release any details."

"How so?"

"Each job is considered a sacred contract," I said, "and each contract must be kept in secret - all the work, jobs, and deeds done throughout it - so I cannot tell anyone what was done."

"...Sir Nights?" Luna spoke, hesitation sounding in her voice.

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"Does thine knight take pride in the final punishment?" She asked me.

I was shocked on the inside, trying my best not to show it to Luna. A rebel like myself never shows emotion. It shows signs of weakness to others.

"I do what I need to do in order to fulfill my duties." I answered. It wasn't a proper or a perfect answer, but still an answer nonetheless.

"But is the final punishment acceptable for thou?"

Clearly the answer I gave wasn't going to cut it with Luna. Putting my rebel side aside for a moment, I told Luna the truth. "I despise killing others. It leaves me with a strange feeling, knowing that a life had to come to an end. Nevertheless, Your Highness, I have to do it as a final action. I cannot allow others to harm those I serve and, if compromises aren't met, then the tip of the sword will be met...It's tough, but I have to do it as a final act."

Luna nodded. I think she understood my response. "Tell us, our knight...dost thou..." She trailed off towards the end.

"Yes?"

"Never mind," Luna retorted, "tis not important."

"Oh," I said, "well in that case-"

"Shall we continue our walk through this courtyard?" Luna asked.

I nodded. "As you wish, Your Highness,"

"Please, Sir Nights," Luna smiled, "call us Luna."

I smirked. "As you wish, Luna,"

I continued escorting Luna through the courtyard as she appeared to be enjoying herself. Knowing that left me in a happy mood...

Happy...?

* * *

 _ **~Outside the castle, near the training grounds~**_

"Captain!" One of the guards shouted, rushing over to the captain in a hurry.

"What is it, private?" Captain Thunder replied.

"Those intruders you were informed about-"

"Ah, have they taken Luna and her knight in Shining Amor?"

"Yes, captain?" Called Shining Armor from the field.

"Not you, Sergeant!" Thunder said.

"Those intruders were defeated by that rebel!" The private informed.

" _What!?_ " Thunder gasped. "That's impossible! There were six of them!"

"Take a look for yourself," the private answered back, offering to escorting them to the defeated pests.

The walk wasn't very far - the training grounds and the courtyard were located on opposite sides of the ground floor - so the captain opted to rush to the slain intruders before someone else had seen them.

When the captain saw the damage, he was beyond shocked. At the same time, Thunder was also impressed. Nonetheless, he saw the intruders laying in their own blood and quickly hatched a plan.

"With this as proof," He said to no one in particular, "I'll make sure that rebel gets sent to prison for the remainder of his pathetic life!"

* * *

 _ **~Later on, in the throne room~**_

"How did you enjoy your day, Luna?" Celestia asked. She was busy with her own problems, so she didn't get to see Luna much today.

Luna smiled, something she's hardly done since her return. "Twas a glorious one, thanks to Sir Nights. Thy knight hath shone us a wonderful time."

"Is that so?"

"Well, not exactly, Your Highness," I said.

"Oh?"

I smirked slightly. "All I did was-"

"Princess Celestia!" Thunder shouted, rushing into the throne room.

I glared at Thunder, gripping my sword tightly. I knew he had it in for me - him and Shining Armor - and was trying to get me either fired or thrown in jail or whatever it was. He eyed me in a sinister manner, then bowed to Celestia.

"What's wrong, Captain?" Celestia asked.

"There's been a tragedy in the castle!" Thunder exclaimed. My assumption was that he found the slain bodies. When I went to go clean the mess, they were all gone.

"A tragedy?"

"Yes," nodded Thunder. He looked at me, "and it's all his fault, Princess!"

I stared at Thunder, giving him a cold glare. I awaited for whatever was to come next.

"Lunar's responsible for the tragedy?" Celestia asked, eyeing me briefly.

"Your Highness," continued Thunder, "there are six slain bodies in the hall. They were left there to-"

"Tis a lie!" Luna shouted.

"A lie?" Celestia said.

"Thou knowest exactly what happened to the intruders!" Luna called out.

"Those were delegates from the city looking for a building permit, Luna!"

"That's Princess Luna, thou ungrateful we-"

"Luna!" Celestia disrupted. She knew that Luna was starting to get out of hand, acting upon emotion rather than rational thought.

"He killed them, Your Highness," continued Thunder, "and proper action must be taken."

"If you insist on being proven wrong," I called, lifting my sword from its shaft. I approached Thunder slowly with my drawn sword, "allow me to explain what truly happened, _Captain._ "

Thunder didn't take too kindly to my drawn sword and especially didn't like it when I held it out towards his neck. "Are you threatening me?"

"No," I replied, "but I don't take too kindly to traitors to the royal family."

"You're calling me a traitor, boy?" Thunder smirked. "You know, I could have you locked up for insulting an official royal guard. You're nothing more than a low-life lawbreaker."

"Captain!" Celestia called. "Lunar! That's quite enough. It's one thing to argue like civil subjects, but it's another to have weapons drawn and accusations being thrown around."

As accusations service rebel, I bowed in displeasure. "Much apologies, Princess. Please forgive me."

"I know you're here to protect my sister, Lunar, and I understand the loyalty to her," continued Celestia, "but to have a weapon drawn against one of my guards-"

"With all due respect, Your Highness," I interrupted, "but this guard does not share the feelings he has for you with Princess Luna." I stared back at Thunder. "Why, if it were up to him, he probably would leave both the princess and myself to perish while he watched."

"What'd you say, boy!?" Thunder threatened. He started approaching me in a way where he wanted to deliver pain, but my drawn sword said otherwise.

"Captain Thunder!" Celestia shouted. "You are dismissed from this room! I shall speak to you outside in a minute."

Thunder felt hurt, but bowed to Celestia. He then turned and exited the throne room as directed. I focused my attention on Celestia and Luna in the meantime. Luna smiled slightly, but Celestia shared Thunder's displeasure.

"Lunar Nights," she spoke, a bit of anger being traced in her voice, "you were hired to guard and protect my sister. If that cannot be kept, you know exactly what'll happen to you."

"Princess Celestia," I replied, "I appreciate the job, you've no idea. But I think Captain Thunder and his guards have it in for Princess Luna and myself."

"These guards swear to protect everything in this castle," Celestia defended, "Why do you think they would allow Luna to be harmed?"

I was appalled. "Have you seen the way they talk to her? They talk down to her and treat her like a common subject!"

"They have never spoken to Luna like-"

"He just said her name mere moments ago!" I defended. "Just her name and no title!"

I knew I had Celestia's number with that. Even she couldn't deny that Thunder spoke just Luna's name - we were all here to witness it. I sighed and shook my head.

"Look," I continued, "you hired me to protect Princess Luna and with that, I am also protecting her honor. She doesn't deserve to be treated the way she does with the guards or any of the subjects." I felt this odd feeling inside me as I continued defending Luna. "She is just under so much heat from the subjects and the guards, I just think that she doesn't deserve that. Her honor has been slandered so much, and I am here to make sure it does not go any farther south than what it is! I want to help her even when my services are no longer required. I want to help her stay happy in this country as she rules over it with you! I want-" I had to stop myself right there. I had a feeling that if I hadn't stopped myself, I would've said something I would later regret. I sighed again, collecting myself thoughts. "I just want to make sure she gets the same treatment from everyone as you do. That may take some time, but I'm willing to spend the remainder of time in order to fulfill that wish."

Celestia was left in shock, as was Luna. The silence was deafening, but after laying all my cards on the table, I knew there was nothing left in the tank but to stay positive.

* * *

 _ **~Outside the throne room~**_

"That little punk thinks he can back talk to me in front of the princess?"

Thunder was fuming outside the throne room. It was made clear that he didn't like Lunar and that he wanted him gone, so he thought of himself to try to make that happen by force.

"Fine, tonight, you'll be in for a little surprise, punk."

Disobeying Celestia's orders, Thunder left the castle in an attempt to jump start his diabolical plan.

* * *

 _ **~Later that night~**_

The time had come for Celestia to lower the sun and end the day. She asked Luna if she felt strong enough to raise the moon, but Luna honestly admitted that she most likely wasn't as of yet. Celestia understood Luna's claim - she still had only returned for such a short time - and she went to go raise the moon in addition to lowering the sun. As I watched Celestia exit the room, I grew curious about Luna's past. I thought it rude, however to just up and ask her about it, especially since she's made it to clear to others that she's wishes not to be reminded of it, claiming it to be a mistake.

Luna did however begin making some more small talk. I guess it's because she doesn't like to be left alone in silence...who knows?

"Sir Nights?" She called.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Thank you," she said.

I smiled. I knew what she meant and it made me happy to know she was glad and pleased with the job I was doing thus far. _Happy?_

"Were it not for your bravery," she continued, "we are not sure if we would have enough strength to endure more bitterness from thy subjects."

"It's was I was hired to do," I replied, "and I would defend your honor until the day I perish."

"But why?" She immediately responded.

"Why what?"

"Why defend our honor if thine job is protection?" She asked.

I felt myself blush very slightly, leaving myself wondering if she noticed. "Umm," I continued, clearing my throat, "because...I happen...to..." _Saying this is a lot harder than I thought it would be..._

"You...?"

I gulped, deciding to lay my cards on the table. "Because...I happen to...like you..." I mumbled the last two words very softly, knowing that Luna couldn't hear them and would most likely ask-

"What was that, Sir Nights?"

I sighed for a lengthened time. "I just...you know...I've spent most of my life as a rebel, doing various odd jobs for those here and there, but...but there's something about you that...I can't help but leave disappointed."

"What dost thou mean behind thine words?" Luna asked.

I stared at her beautiful teal eyes and lost myself within them. I wanted to truthfully tell her how I felt, but my pride in the creed was holding me back. It was our duty to show as little emotion as possible while working our jobs.

"I'm..." I couldn't find the strength to tell her.

Luna smiled slightly. "We think we understand how thou feels."

"You do?"

"Thou certainly does...have...feelings for us," Luna claimed, "are we correct?"

"How do you know?" I quickly responded.

"There was never a subject such as thee who defended our honor for such a time," Luna explained, "furthermore, thy knight hath stood up to our sister and Captain Thunder for us...other subjects would have let them speak to us as such."

"Nobody should ever speak to you like that," I stated, "guard or no guard. You are an amazing princess, from what I've seen so far. You're just misunderstood and the name you once carried is the reason nobody views you the same they do with Princess Celestia."

"Tis is true," Luna responded, "our sister is clearly the favorite between us two."

"And that's why I'm here," I said, "I will gladly spend my remaining days rebuilding your reputation with all of the subjects. Even if one of them agrees and views you as Princess Luna and not as Nightmare Moon, it'll be an improvement on the long road ahead of us."

I saw Luna smile and nod her head lightly. I could tell that she fancied the idea of having her reputation be reubuilt in the country and hoped that she could finally be viewed as something she no longer was.

* * *

 _ **~Late that night~**_

"Time to finally punish that punk for what he did."

Captain Thunder, still fuming over Princess Luna's new guard, Lunar Nights, decided to put him in his place himself. After waiting for Luna and Lunar to finally go to sleep, Thunder decided to put his plan into action. Looking around, he nodded at one of the evening guards, then walked right past him.

"I know you'll be there." Thunder smirked.

He rounded a corner, walking down a new corridor of the castle. There were hundreds of decorations revolving around the night in this hallway, but Thunder took a rather hefty unhappiness from this. He hated how this corridor turned out and still had a hunch that Luna would eventually break down and become Nightmare Moon once more. Nobody believed that she was free of her curse, which resulted in biased, definitive thoughts against her.

Stopping in front of Luna's new room, Thunder quietly opened the door. He felt that if it were rushed, he would wake up Lunar and get caught, though he didn't view this as a bad thing, hypothetically speaking.

* * *

 _ **~Inside Luna's bedroom~**_

"Sleep tight, traitor," Thunder oozed as he eyed the sleeping princess. He turned to me, "You too, you outlaw."

I was exhausted from lack of sleep, but I Thunder and shot up from my bed. I was very tired and had a little bit of trouble finding my balance.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, eyeing the intruding captain with weary eyes. I tried reaching for my sword, but couldn't manage to find it. I looked at the captain again, noticing that he was holding my sword.

"Looking for this?" He teased.

"Give back my sword." I demanded, trying my best not to wake up Luna.

"Hmm..." He thought. "I guess I could."

I thought that Thunder was up to something and decided to keep my guard up higher than usual. He approached me slowly, my sword drawn in his grasp.

"But," he continued, "I'll give it back to you my way!"

He jabbed at me with my sword, but purposely missed. Looking up, Thunder eyed something else. I looked up as well, noticing another intruder shooting down from the ceiling. Thunder grabbed a hold of my cloak, making my movement limited. I tried taking the cloak off, trying to dodge the surprise attack from the guard falling from the ceiling. The falling guard swung a large sword at me, slicing and piercing through my back. The sword was driven deep into my back, but not deep enough to cut through me. I screamed in pain and then fell over on the ground.

"Checkmate, punk!" Thunder shouted, punching my face and knocking me out cold.

* * *

 _ **~The next morning~**_

I woke up the next morning and felt as if the room was spinning. I couldn't remember much from last night, but when I looked at the bed, somehow, it had all come back to me.

"Luna?" I asked, starting to get a bit worried. The princess wasn't in her bed and that had alarmed me.

Suddenly, without any warning, the door to the hallway opened up and stunned me. I froze out of fear, looking at the door, waiting for whoever were to enter into the room.

"Luna?" I asked again.

"Luna is not here, Lunar," someone answered.

"Princess Celestia?"

The tall white alicorn entered the room, but she appeared to be very disappointed. She pointed at me. "It was your job to protect her, Lunar. Where is my sister?"

"I-I-I-I can explain, Your Highness!" I stuttered.

"Well?"

"Captain Thunder and another guard attacked us in our sleep!" I protested.

"Highly improbably," Celestia replied, "the captain and his corporal were positioned at their station the entire night!"

Something about that last statement made me feel uneasy. I told Celestia that it was the captain and another guard. I didn't specify what position they were in the Royal Canterlot Guard, nor could I; I couldn't see too well last night.

"I didn't say that the other guard was a corporal, Your Highness," I said, stepping up to Celestia. She towered over me, but I refused to back down. "You know something, don't you?"

"Where is Princess Luna?" Celestia replied, ignoring my question and accusation.

I stared into Celestia's eyes. I wasn't going to lose this battle, and I made sure of that. "You know where, Celestia." I told her. "You knew what happened here last night."

"I do not!" She shouted at me.

"Yes you do!" I replied.

"No I don't!" Celestia repeated.

"Yes you do!" I said.

"No I-"

" _ADMIT IT!"_ I boomed, stomping my leg on the ground.

Celestia eyed me heavily, but I exchanged the favor with her. Without saying anything else, she turned and started walking out the room. Just before she entered the hall, she called back to me.

"You'd better find my sister," she threatened, "or else."

I scowled at the fact that Celestia knew where Luna was, staring harshly at the exiting so-called "beloved" Sun Goddess.

 _Beloved, my ass._ I thought, sighing and looking out of the nearby window. _You're out there somewhere, Luna...but where?_

* * *

 _ **~Later that day~**_

Deep inside an undisclosed location, Princess Luna was being held against her will. She was being held down by a rather unknown spell that seemed to increase gravitational forces for her, making flying a dismissed idea. She also couldn't use her magic because it still hasn' fully redeveloped, meaning that certain spells - such as teleportation - were too much for her to handle. She began tearing up, feeling betrayed by her subjects. She also began feeling the power of Nightmare Moon try to take advantage of her and attempt to regain control, but Luna's thoughts of her guard Lunar was the only thing that Nightmare Moon couldn't seem to overcome, though she was trying.

"Please, Sir Nights," Luna grunted, feeling Nightmare Moon increase her power, "ugh...please...hurry!"

* * *

 _ **~Back inside the castle~**_

Making my way down the castle, I passed by Captain Thunder. I confronted him and decided to give him a piece of my mind.

"Well, well, well," he slyly remarked, "what do we have here?"

"You know very damn well what we have here, you fucking bastard!" I lashed at him.

Thunder laughed. "Seems as if the big, bad wolf has been hurt!" He pressed his face up against mine. "Fucking worm."

I spat in his face, then drew my sword, holding it against his throat. "You're fucking lucky you have Celestia to back you up. If you didn't, your head would be held lower than your own arms."

"Are you assuming you'll kill me?" Thunder bluntly replied.

"No," I replied, "I'm not." I put the sword away and began walking out of the castle. "I don't kill weaklings."

Thunder began following me out of the castle, shouting at me from the castle doors. "Sounds to me like you're afraid of me!"

I turned around and stared at Thunder. "You're wrong! Lunar Nights is afraid of nobody!"

"Oh, boo hoo!" Thunder mocked. "I'm afraid of the big, bad, scary guards! I can't do my job right!"

I began clenching my fists together, trying to remain calm and keep my composure, but that was proving to be a rather difficult task.

In the meantime, Thunder continued to mock me. "I'm too weak to protect anyone!"

I gritted my teeth together, starting to lose composure.

"I'm nobody and lost Luna to the afterlife." Thunder said, locking eye contact with me.

That blew my gasket. I charged at Thunder, sword drawn, and lost all control of my actions. Creed or no creed, I made it a mission to kill this son of a bitch.

"You bastard!" I yelled. "You stole her from me!"

I swung my sword at Thunder, but he dodged with much ease, delivering a counter strike against me. I brushed off his kick to my chest, swinging my sword again at him, to which he again dodged.

"Pathetic." He said, punching my back.

" _GAH!_ " I yelped, showing my pain. I shook it off, trying to stab Thunder willingly. Each of my attempts, however, missed, making me grow more tired by the second.

"Seems as if you have awful aim too," Thunder continued. He knocked my sword out of my grasp, smirking at me, "It's no wonder why she died."

" _YOU TAKE THAT BACK, ASSHOLE!_ " I burst, punching Thunder across his face. Blood was sent from his mouth, as well as a few teeth as he fell to the ground. Taking advantage of the small opportunity, I reached out and grabbed my sword again, drawing it on Thunder. "Where is she?"

"In a place you'll never figure out." Thunder coughed, still smirking and still mocking me.

" _Where!?_ " I yelled, pressing my sword against his neck further.

"Why would I tell you?" He laughed. "You're too late anyway."

"You tell me where she is or so help me Luna, I swear I'll cut your fucking head _off_!" I threatened, touching his neck with the tip of my sword.

"You don't have the guts to kill me," Thunder told me, spitting on my sword.

"Guess again, asshole." I replied, starting to pierce his neck slowly. "Where is she?"

"S-S-S-She's-s-s..."

" _WHERE!?_ " I pushed the sword slightly further into his neck, but not far enough to kill him just yet.

"M-M-M-M-"

"Mount Frostworth?"

"Y-Y-Yes!"

I smirked, cutting all the way through Thunder's neck, then retracting my sword. As a final act, I swung my sword once more, cutting his head off entirely.

"Fuck you," I whispered as Thunder's head rolled next to me. I wiped his blood off the blade, then put the sword away in its sheath.

"Murderer!" Someone shouted. "Murderer!"

I turned and saw others running away, probably going to alert Celestia of my recent murder. I opted running from the open area, both as an attempt to get away and as a way of starting my quest to Mount Frostworth.

 _I'll find you, Princess,_ I told myself, _don't you worry._

After hearing a few guards yell out my name, I rushed out of town as quickly as I could, starting my pursuit towards the trapped and captured princess. Mount Frostworth was a treacherous mountain to climb by itself, but if the reward of climbing it was to see Luna's beautiful face once more, it was a risk I was willing to take.

Rushing out of the city, I made it a mission to not stop until I reached the base of the mountain, which was a long way away. I knew the journey would be a long one, but just the thought of seeing Luna again kept me going.

 _Why do I feel like this?_ I thought. _It's really just another job, but..._

In all honesty, I felt something that I had never felt before. It was...well, it's just hard to explain, but I really wanted to see Luna again. There was something about her that just...that just attracted me to her, not as a guard but...it's just very hard to explain.

 _"WRROOOOOAAAARRRR!"_

I grabbed my sword, ready to draw it on whatever was near. It didn't help that I had run into a seemingly open field. The wind whistled by me, causing my cloak to rustle and flap around. Looking around, I saw a forest just to the northeast direction. I didn't know exactly where the roar came from - one could only assume that it came from the forest - but I opted to go towards the forest. Not only was I forced to - I was pretty sure that Celestia's corrupted guards were on their way to arrest me - but I had to since the mountain was on the other side of this dense forest. Without delaying another moment, I plunged into the forest, careful for whatever lurked inside these woods.

 _If only Midnight were here,_ I thought. Midnight was always good at combating against treacherous foes in the unknown. I was a skilled swordsman, so close quarter combat was always my specialty, but sometimes that _does_ have its downside.

 _SNAP!_

I spun around and drew my sword, angling it in an attacking position, ready to kill whatever was following me. _Who's there...?_

The sound of cracking and snapping twigs came from all around me and made me feel just a tad uneasy. I still felt that I could take on multiple enemies, even a horde of them, but to know that I was being watched constantly was what gave me such an odd feeling.

 _"WRROOOOOOAAAARRRR!"_

 _That's really close._ I said in silence, carefully taking one step backwards, trying to pursue further into the forest.

Suddenly, I saw a bush move furiously. I paid close attention to it and prepared myself for an ambush. The roar came again, louder and more furious than before. Just then, a giant timberwolf jumped out from behind the bush, crushing it with little effort. I glanced upward and saw several other timberwolves begin revealing themselves. I gripped my sword tightly, then started attacking the giant timberwolf.

"Come here, you son of a bitch!" I shouted, lashing my sword at the timberwolf.

* * *

 _ **~Inside Mount Frostworth~**_

Princess Luna was still being held against her will inside the frigid Mount Frostworth. She felt her body get colder and weaker as time marched onward. Nightmare Moon desperately tried taking over again as Luna laid on the ground, cold, hurt, and betrayed by her subjects. The only thing that Nightmare Moon couldn't overcome just yet was Luna's own thoughts of her guard Lunar coming to rescue her. That was just enough to prevent Luna from becoming corrupted once more.

As Luna lay there, an unknown guard watched over her, making sure she didn't try to attempt an escape, though that would be asking for too much for Luna.

"Come on," they spoke. Luna determined that the voice was that of a female, "do you really expect him to make it here? You must be bluffing."

"H-H-He w-w-will show-w up," Luna replied, stuttering heavily from the cold weather, "y-you'll-l s-see."

"You know that won't happen, darling," Luna's captor said, mocking Luna slightly, "besides, you would look so much better as Nightmare Moon again..." They stepped in front of Luna, revealing themselves. They were tall, even taller than Luna when she was standing, but not taller than Celestia. She was wearing a black dress and had lovely flowing purple hair, almost as if it were a royal purple. Her eyes were breathtaking colors of blue and her smile showed beautiful white teeth that were perfectly kept. She held a hook sword that was painted black and eagerly awaited for Lunar's arrival. "Besides...if he does show up, I'll introduce him to little Nightmare here."

"N-N-Nightmare?" Luna repeated.

"The name of this beautiful and elegant sword, darling," She laughed. She toyed with Luna a bit longer before going back to her post. "Shame to know that someone so close to you would want you to suffer like this...almost as if she wanted you back out of the picture...oh well, I have a job to do."

She punched Luna on the ground, then went back to her post, tending to her fist. "Ugh...I knew I should've worn gloves."

Luna lay there on the ground, beaten and desperately hanging on for dear life. Nightmare Moon was very close to taking over again.

* * *

 _ **~Back in the dense forest~**_

"Finally..." I panted, tired from the long battle with the timberwolves.

All around me lay a bunch of cut up wood. In total, there were seven timberwolves plus the giant one that revealed itself to me first. I was exhausted and slightly beaten; one of the smaller timberwolves managed to get a bite in on me, tearing off a piece of my cloak. I didn't mind it so much, but did have to tend to the wound they left. I grabbed some leaves from a nearby tree and started rubbing it against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

 _Maybe some healing herbs would do..._ I thought to myself. There was just one problem: I couldn't tell healing herbs from damaging ones. I opted not to take the chance and continued to rub some clean leaves against the wound.

I got the bleeding to slow down tremendously, then decided to tear off a bit more of my cloak, tying it around the wound as if it were like a bandaid. Once I tied it around my leg tightly, I got back up and slowly continued my pursuit towards Mount Frostworth.

"Nearly there," I told myself, looking at the mountain through a clearing in the trees, "only three quarters of the way more to go..." I pushed onward, trying my best not to lose even more distance between myself and the seemingly pursuing legion of guards.

With Luna high on my mind, I knew that I would be seeing her soon and rescuing her.

* * *

 _ **~Back in Canterlot~**_

"Send out a group of mercenaries for him!" Celestia roared. She was very displeased with the events that took place today.

"Your Highness," Shining Armor spoke, "should we send them to Mount Frostworth? That is most likely the location he would be headed since Luna is there."

"Yes, Shining Armor," Celestia replied, "hopefully the nightmare forces push her to the brink of corruption again like they did with that dreadfully annoying Rarity. She seemed to break rather easily. If those same forces can re-corrupt Luna, then we can place charges of betrayal on Lunar and place him in jail or even end him. Knowing him, he'll probably protect either her or Nightmare Moon until the moment he perishes."

"Should there be any other attackers that shall hunt him down?" Shining Armor asked.

"You shall go with them and bring him back to me dead or alive," Celestia oozed, "is that understood, _Captain_ Shining Armor?"

"Understood, Your Highness." Shining Armor acknowledged, bowing to Celestia.

"Good," Celestia smirked, "now get to work. I want him back here by nightfall tomorrow."

"Understood." Shining Armor said, rushing out of the room to gather the group of mercenaries. He was looking forward to bringing Lunar to his knees and hoped it would be his doing that would ultimately lead to Lunar's death.

* * *

 _ **~Outside the dense forest~**_

"Finally out of that maze..." I sighed.

Looking ahead, I saw a treacherous path that led up the mountain. Knowing this mountain, there was a small cave located near the peak and assumed that Luna was being held there against her will.

"Don't worry, Luna," I said out loud, "your knight will be with you soon."

I began my pursuit up the mountain and up towards Luna. It was too cold to simply fly up the mountain's side, so I simply walked up to her. It was very cold the further up I went, but knowing Luna would be waiting for me was more than enough to keep me going.

The further up I went, the more I began to feel my wings freezing against my back. In an attempt to stop that, I heavily tied down my cloak against my back, leaving almost all of my face subject to frostbite. The temperature plummeted every hundred yards I took and, eventually, the magic I had started becoming more and more useless. Eventually, I couldn't even use it any more and was left with just determination and survival skills that all rebels should know.

About halfway up the mountain, I felt the tip of my horn begin to freeze, which started to give me a rather gruesome headache. Still, I pushed onward and hoped that I would see Luna once more. Continuing upward, the weather changed slightly and I felt snow start to come down. I reached inside my bag, hoping that I at least had a mask for my face, but was left in disarray as I found out that my mask was stolen from my belongings. I sighed, but kept on going up the side of the mountain, seeing the small cave from where I was presently. It was a small dot from where I saw it, but I used that dot as means of forward movement through this devastatingly brutal cold weather.

* * *

 _ **~Inside the cave~**_

"Humph," Rarity spoke, "seems as if your knight is braving the brutal storm I made just for him."

"B-B-Bec-cause h-he w-w-will defend u-u-us." Luna stuttered. She was getting colder and weaker by the second.

"Silence, darling," snapped Rarity, "even if he does make it up here, I'll see to it that his precious and strong body doesn't make it back down the mountain."

"Y-Y-You wouldn't."

"I will," Rarity laughed, "because I am stronger than he'll ever be! You can be too if you would just succumb to your fate and become Nightmare Moon once more!"

"N-Never."

"Oh, too bad then," Rarity mocked, "because if he does make it up here, you'll already have become her anyway."

Rarity laughed as she continued watching Luna's knight brave the storm and continue up Mount Frostworth. Luna, on the other hand, continued prying on for dear life, hoping Lunar would make it to her in time.

 _Please hurry, Sir Nights._ She told herself.

* * *

 _ **~In the midst of the blizzard~**_

"Where did this stupid snow come from!?" I shouted angrily.

It seemed as if the weather did not want me to climb the mountain, but I kept on going because I had to; because I _wanted_ to, rather. As the cave got closer - it was probably five hundred or so yards away from me now - the freezing continued taking a toll on me. My cloak had stopped flailing in the wind, freezing against my legs and the heavy blizzard caused my horn and my eye lashes to freeze, giving me a seemingly endless headache. Fortunately, my sword, which was still in its sheath under my cloak, was still accessible and usable, but if it got any colder, that could change.

Finally, I reached a small plateau and gathered my breath shortly. I was still being subjected to frostbite, so I kept moving. The cave was very close to me, so I knew that Luna had to be close by.

"H-Hang On, L-Luna-a," I muttered, "I-I'm alm-m-most t-there."

I stepped foot in front of the cave and looked into it, seeing nothing but darkness. Sword ready to be drawn, I stepped foot inside and called out to Luna.

"L-Luna?"

"S-S-Sir N-Nights?" I heard.

"Luna!" I gasped, rushing over towards the source of the voice.

"W-wait!" Luna warned.

"Wh-"

Without another warning, I was blindsided by a rather hefty punch. It laid me flat on the ground and knocked my sword away from me. I looked up to see who did this and was astonished to see someone else here.

"W-Who are y-you?" I asked.

"I am your assassin, darling," they replied, stabbing my back and piercing through my cloak, leaving my wings subjected to further freezing.

" _GAH!"_ I shouted out in pain. I tried crawling towards my sword, but was soon again stabbed again by this assassin.

"Where do you think you're going, dear?" They mocked, kicking my sword out of the cave. "You have no need for that dirty thing."

I looked at my sword and couldn't go back out to get her. This assassin paced around me and held out her sword to me. I looked up, staring at the captivating eyes of this new assassin.

"Tell me, darling," she spoke, "how does it feel like to know that your journey to protect the one you love...how does it feel to know that it was all for naught? To know that you came so close, but couldn't finish it off?" She leaned in towards my ear. "How does it feel to know that you failed?"

"I-I didn't fail," I replied, feeling much warmer once this so-called assassin leaned in towards me, "I simply ran into an obstacle."

"Oh, how funny, dear," she giggled, "do you really think that you stand any kind of chance?"

"I do!" I shouted, kicking her away from me. I used this time to crawl towards my sword as quickly as I could.

"Oh, you beast!" She lashed, grabbing her misplaced sword and approaching me.

 _Come on,_ I thought, _just a bit more!_

"I'll teach you to treat a sophisticated lady so poorly!" She yelled at me, nearing me even more.

I reached out, trying to grab my sword, but was still slightly away from it. This assassin stood next to me and rested a foot on my back. I screamed in pain as she pressed her foot onto my wounded back, literally paralyzing my movement. She laughed at my pain, pressing her foot even more into my back, almost piercing it.

"Sir Nights!" Luna cried.

"Such a shame, darling," the assassin smirked, "one of the best in the business, yet brought down to the feet of a lady."

I tried reaching further for my sword, but was stopped by the pain on my back as she saw and stabbed my reaching arm, stopping it and making me scream even more. So far, her stabbings haven't been ones that could kill, but, were they centimeters to the left or right, they would be paralyzing ones.

"Darling," she asked slyly, picking up my sword, "is this what you want?" I stood speechless, preparing for another stabbing from her. "Let me help you out then."

I cringed, awaiting for the stab, but it never came. Instead, I heard clanging sounds, telling me that she threw my sword deeper into the cave. She grabbed my leg and began dragging my body across the cold, hard ground.

"Let's play a little game, shall we, dear?" She laughed. She dropped me in front of Luna with my sword stuck between us both. "First one to kill the other gets to live!"

I stared at the sword, then shut my eyes and looked away. "You do it."

"W-What?" Luna gasped.

"If it means you can live onward," I said, "then I want you to be the one who ends me."

"S-Sir Nights," Luna muttered, "we cannot perform such an act..."

"You must, Luna," I objected, "either you do it, or she'll kill us both."

"Come now, darling," Rarity grunted, "we don't have all day, you know."

"Live on, Luna," I told her, "live on and regain their trust and respect."

"We shall," Luna nodded, holding an arm out to me, "but only with our knight."

I shook my head, "No, Luna...you have to keep going. I...I appreciate the gesture, but you must end me if you wish to live on."

"This is simply taking too long," Rarity sighed, frustrated, "allow me to finish what you've started."

She stepped onto my back, sending sharp pain where she stood. I saw her reach down for my sword and grab it in front of me. She exchanged glances between myself and Luna, probably wondering who to kill first.

"Hmm..." Rarity smirked. "I think I'll kill..." She turned to me. "...you first. Such a shame; you are a cute guy..."

"Who do you work for?" I questioned, stalling just a bit.

"I work for the highest command there is in this country," Rarity replied, positioning my sword in an attacking stance.

"And you consider yourself a...?"

"I, my dear," Rarity continued, lifting my head with her hand, "like to think of myself as the country's greatest bounty hunter. I do my work and complete it as instructed and my directive is to kill you."

"How well do you think you know me?"

"Stop stalling..." Rarity said, shaking her head.

"Answer my question." I protested.

"Why should I?"

"Because if you call yourself the greatest bounty hunter in this country," I continued, using my hidden butterfly knife to stab Rarity in her throat, "then you would have spotted my hidden knife easily."

"B-B-B-Bu-"

Rarity's body fell over and collapsed on the ground as I retracted my butterfly knife from her throat. I knew I had killed her - I aimed for her nervous system - and forcefully stopped her from completing her mission. I dropped the knife, then lowered my head onto the ground. I was exhausted and in too much pain to move freely, but the warmth I received from Rarity was just enough to thaw out my horn. I used what was left in strength to seal the entrance to the cave and warm it up slightly. It wasn't much, but it was enough to help out slightly.

Luna, looking over, tried moving herself in order to get to me, but even she was still too weak to move. She called out my name, but I couldn't reply back; I was weaker than I had ever felt in my life before. I shut my eyes, exhausted from my journey.

* * *

 _ **~Later that day~**_

I awoke much later in the day still inside the same cave. I looked around and couldn't seem to find Luna anywhere, immediately sparking worry in me.

"Luna?" I asked.

"It's okay," She responded.

I turned my head towards the entrance and saw Luna reenter from the frigid outdoors. I was shocked to see her up and about, but was even more shocked when I saw that something was different about her.

"What happened?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Luna replied. Her voice seemed to have veered away slightly from the classic, medieval type.

"You look...different?" I noted. Luna's hair was long, flowing in the wind, and was a deep blue color, housing tiny specks in it, which resembled like stars.

"I managed to regain some of my power and this started to happen." Luna smiled.

I was astounded, then I felt my back. "Bandages?"

"I hope they're not too tight, Lunar," Luna told me.

"Y-You called me by my name." I said.

"Oh," Luna retorted, "I do hope that it's okay."

I smiled, "From you? Of course it is, Luna." I fell silent for a brief period. "Does this mean that...?"

"If you're asking if your services are no longer needed," Luna continued, "maybe as a rebel, but not as my personal guard."

"You mean...?"

"Sir Nights," Luna smiled, "would you like to be my personal royal guard from now on?"

"Oh, yes," I beamed, "yes, Luna...yes..."

Luna seemed delighted by my answer, but not as delighted as I had felt at that moment. I was going to be a royal guard for the beautiful Princess Luna! I couldn't believe it, I really couldn't...

My life was now at peace, knowing I would spend much more time standing by Luna. She meant everything to me and is really why I made this journey. She will be the reason I continue to defend the honor of the night and will always be the reason I will perform my very best, no matter what.

* * *

 _ **END**_


	13. The Rise of the Night

The Rise of the Night

* * *

"Another book read and finished up."

Encasing the book with my aura, I placed it back on the shelf I took it down from. Taking a small break, I looked out the window and looked up to the sky and fixated my view on the moon. I wondered why the moon suddenly changed from about a week ago to today, and I didn't mean by phase.

The moon itself had literally changed. Craters that were once visible on the side of the moon could no longer be seen from where we are. It was strange to see something so big change so suddenly.

"Lunar?" Dad said.

I jumped a bit, frightened by the sudden noise. Turning around, I saw Dad enter my room. He chuckled and lifted me with his magic, bringing me closer to him. When I came close enough to him, he rubbed my mane with his hoof playfully, messing my mane up in a playful manner.

"I thought you went to bed a couple of hours ago." He told me. "What are you still doing up?"

I shrugged. "I dunno." I thought about the moon's drastic change. "Dad, can I ask you a question?"

He nodded. "What's on your mind, scamp?"

I pointed to the moon. "Why did the moon change like it did?"

He smiled and looked up at the moon, then brought me to my bed, tucking me into it. Dad was a unicorn of few words and when he did tell me something other than 'good morning' or 'good night,' it really went deep and turned into something philosophical. He rose from my bed and went to the doorway, turning off my lights.

"Dad?" I said.

"You'll find out in due time, Lunar." He finally answered. He turned to me one last time for the night. "Now go to bed. You've got yourself a long day tomorrow."

I nodded and went to bed for the night, falling asleep rather quickly.

* * *

" _Did you do that?"_

" _How can…where did you learn to do that, Lunar?"_

 _The area around me was all from my memory. I was in the living room in our old house in Caneighda, watching a younger version of myself perform a sophisticated levitation spell on a number of moveable objects in the room: the books, the coffee table, the small ottomans we had, and a few other things._

Easy, _I thought to myself,_ it actually wasn't as hard as I'd thought it would be.

" _I-I-I-" I remember being very frightened by my parents. I remember thinking that they would be mad at me for playing with my magic in such a way._

" _Lunar," Mom spoke softly, approaching me and wrapping me with her wings, "it's okay, Luny…you can calm down now. You're not in trouble or anything."_

 _I smiled softly when I heard Mom call me Luny. It was a cute nickname and Mom used it whenever I felt anxious. I looked onward as I saw younger me explain to Mom what happened._

" _I wed the wittle spell in the book."_

 _I smiled more._ I did always have trouble pronouncing those R's when I was younger.

 _Mom hugged me with her wings and her hooves. She nuzzled my neck softly, then pulled away a bit. Dad crouched down next to Mom and they both stared at me._

" _You know I'm not a unicorn," Mom began, "but even I could tell that that was some sort of spell, Luny."_

" _Weally?"_

 _Dad nodded. "Not even I can control that many things, Lunar. You have a gift."_

" _Can I open it, pwease?"_

 _Mom and Dad both chuckled quietly, as did I as I watched over them. Mom pat my head with her wing and shook her head, explaining to the younger me what it was that Dad meant._

" _It's not that kind of gift, sweetie." She told me. "He meant that you're a special unicorn."_

" _Special?" I repeated, tilting my head a bit._

 _They both nodded._

" _You might be able to achieve something great with this in your life." Mom continued._

 _The void started to fade into a dark abyss. I wondered what was happening, but I got an answer shortly after the abyss came into full view._

" _Lunar?" Dad said, his voice sounding raspy and filled with worry._

" _Where's Mommy?" I asked._

Oh no, _I thought,_ not this moment… _I felt a tear beginning to form in my eye._

 _Dad's eyes started to form tears as well. I was unsure of what was happening, so I thought that I'd done something wrong._

" _Am I in twouble?" I wondered._

 _Dad shook his head, hugging me tightly. "N-no…"_

" _Daddy…" I continued slowly. "What happened to Mommy? Where did she go?"_

 _A few tears escaped from Dad's eyes as well as my own. The void again faded to the dark abyss and left me alone in the darkness once more._

 _I knew exactly what had happened. Right before Hearth's Warming that year, Mom fell ill and was very weak. She spent a lot of time in the hospital near Ontneighrio and I remembered Dad taking me to visit her every single day once I came home from school. The doctors told us that she would be alright and that she would be home just after the start of the new year. That was something Dad and I had hoped for while Mom was stuck in her hospital bed, unable to move, unable to respond…_

 _Unable to live on her own behalf…_

 _*sniff*…I apologize…I do not like remembering the…final moment…_

 _If I knew that was the final time I'd see her, I would've said something else. The last thing I told her…_

…" _Mommy, come home…"_

 _The abyss started shaking violently. I started panicking and did not know what to do next._

 _The void collapsed on itself…_

* * *

I screamed myself awake, jumping out of the bed and looking around, breathing heavily and quickly. I looked for something to calm me down, but couldn't find anything.

I heard Dad rushing towards me, nearly barreling through my door just to get to me. I quickly glanced at him, still looking for something to correct my irrational breathing. He ran over to me and hugged me tight, rubbing my back softly and using a soothing, quiet voice to try to calm me down.

"Shh, shh…it's okay, Luny…" He told me. "Everything will be okay, Luny…"

My breathing shortened and I finally calmed down a bit. I turned to Dad and hugged him back tightly, a few tears escaping from my eyes. Dad rubbed my back even more softly and spoke to me quietly.

"You had that dream again," he said, "didn't you?"

I nodded slowly, wiping away some of my tears. "I just miss Mom so much…"

"I know, Lunar," he replied, "and so do I…but you know…I think she would be proud of what can possibly happen tomorrow. She would be proud of you just knowing you got that letter in the mail."

I looked over towards the letter I got about a month ago. It was an acceptance letter to Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns and I got that about eighteen months after Mom died. She always wanted me to try to enroll in the school, ever since that day I showed off my control of my magic in the living room. It took a long time to muster up the courage to send an application, but I did so because I wanted to make Mom proud of what I could do.

"You have such an incredible gift, Lunar," Dad continued, pulling away from me and looking at me with loving eyes, "I know Mom would be proud of what you can possibly accomplish. She wanted you to go to that school, so I know you would keep her happy by doing things above and beyond."

"But what if I'm not good enough to be at that school, Dad?" I protested. "What if I can't please Princess Celestia?"

Dad shushed me. "Don't say that, Lunar. You are more than capable of enrolling at that school. I'm certain that Princess Celestia herself will even recognize the abilities that you have."

I nodded, but deep down, I knew that Princess Celestia – the ruler of the entire land of Equestria – would not personally notice my abilities. I'd highly doubt somepony who rules over an entire land would notice somepony of almost no importance like me.

Dad helped calm me down for a long time during the night. I closed my eyes and tried going back to bed, but I couldn't fall asleep. I sighed, waiting for morning to eventually arrive.

* * *

"There it is, Lunar," Dad smiled, looking upward at the gigantic castle in Canterlot, "Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns."

It was enormous. The tall spires, the giant windows, the towers, everything…

I gulped, becoming more nervous about the entrance exam I had to perform. As Dad followed the other unicorns towards one of the smaller towers, I became a bit more weak in the knees. I started to panic a bit, but thankfully Dad was standing next to me, able to calm me down temporarily.

 _But what would happen if I became too panicked during the exam? How would that affect my magic? What if I'm unable to do the things I needed to do in order to pass that exam? What if–?_

"We're here, Lunar." Dad told me.

I blinked a few times, wondering how long I had those thoughts travel and whiz by in my head. We arrived at the tower fairly quickly and, once we stepped inside of it, my breathing became a bit more abnormal. There were a ton of rooms in the tower, but none of them were occupied. A large, double-wide door stood at the end of the hallway where each of the unicorns went into and came out of, presumably before and after their test was administered.

"You're gonna be fine," Dad said, he was speaking in his soothing voice, trying to match the voice Mom use to speak in when I was feeling anxious. "You have nothing to worry about. You're going to wow whoever is behind that door."

Unfortunately for me, because of my anxiety, time seems to fly by at a much quicker pace than I would like for it to. Before I even had a chance to comprehend what Dad told me, it was my turn to take my entrance exam. I gulped, looking up to Dad with a worried look.

"You can do this, son." He told me. "Do this for Mom…you know she'd be proud of where you are right now."

I nodded slowly, opening the door with my hoof and walking inside. I looked inside and gave a relieved sigh. Before me were two sophisticated looking unicorns holding up clipboards before them with their magic. They glared at me, intimidating me heavily. I stepped to the center of the room and then bowed to them, greeting them politely.

"Go-Good morning, sirs," I mumbled.

"What was that, youngster?" The left unicorn asked. He had a very deep voice that sounded like he should be hosting events or gameshows rather than judging unicorns based off their skills in magic.

I gulped, then bucked up some courage to speak louder. "G-Good morning, sirs."

The room filled with some silence afterwards. Before I knew it, a cart was pushed in front of me. On top of the cart were different test tubes, beakers, flasks, and liquids inside most of them. There were two flasks that were empty of liquid, which drew my attention the most. I turned to the judges and wondered what it was they wanted me to do.

"On the table are some liquids." The unicorn on the right told me. She used her magic to use her pencil to point to some of the beakers and test tubes. "Inside some of these test tubes and beakers is a liquid dense enough that can be controlled with unicorn magic."

"Your objective is to distill the liquid that can be controlled with magic and place it in the empty flasks." The male judge added.

I looked to the cart again and wondered where I should begin. I encased each of the test tubes with my magic evenly to see where the heaviest point was in each of them. The second test tube felt heavier than the others, so I started with that test tube, levitating it towards me gently and cautiously. I'd never worked with liquids of this nature before. The most I played with as a child was apple juice, and even that was limited.

I was getting ready to separate the liquid they talked about when I heard a different voice and hoofsteps in the room. Letting my curiosity get the better of me, I took a quick glance over to see who it was that had entered the room.

"I'm sorry I'm late, you two." The new voice whispered, "Did I miss anything?"

 _Is that…that can't possibly…what is…?_

"Princess Celestia," the judges delightfully responded, "you've missed not a single thing. Lunar Nights was performing his entrance exam for us just now."

"P-P-P-P-Princess…?" I repeated, losing all concentration in my magic and dropping the test tube and flask I was holding with it, causing it to shatter along the floor. I blushed, looking down to survey the damage. Looking back up, I could see the judges write things down on their clipboards.

"Now, now," Princess Celestia spoke, "don't penalize him for that. He's probably just a bit more nervous now that I'm in the room."

The two judges glanced over towards Princess Celestia, surprised to hear what she said. "But the child lost control over something basic."

Princess Celestia giggled. "We've all started–"

"I can pick up and clean this, Your Highness." I interrupted.

I concentrated as best as I could and started to lose control of my magic. Magic bursts started to release from my horn, the result of my anxiety. I tried desperately to regain control over my magic, but nothing I was doing was working. Concussive blasts of magic shot all around the room and my eyes began turning dark. I forced my eyes shut and kept them closed until I could regain the control again.

"Princess!" The lady judge cried. "Stay down!"

I didn't know what she was doing, but I felt myself be lifted into the air and I felt the presence of another horn touching mine, giving me control of my magic slowly. I blinked a few times, then looked around to see a pale yellow aura around my body. I looked forward and saw that Princess Celestia was levitating me in the air. I became fearful, unknown if the princess was angry with what happened just now. I prepared for the worst, but was astonished to see the princess smiling at me.

"You know," she spoke softly, "you remind me of another pony about the same age as you."

"I-I do?" I hesitated to say.

Princess Celestia nodded, setting me down on the ground. "She was a small purple unicorn. I recently sent her to Ponyville to continue learning from me there."

I was intrigued, but was still a bit worried about what just happened. "I-I'm sorry for my…my little outburst."

"It's quite alright, Lunar." Princess Celestia responded. "Your magic abilities remind me of that purple unicorn's."

"W-Why thank you, Princess." I answered, smiling a bit.

I felt the princess' wing push me towards where I came in from. "Come along, Lunar…I want to speak with you and whoever else is here with you."

I blushed, walking alongside the tall, white alicorn back towards the door I walked through originally. I tried to open the door when we got to it, but the princess opened it for the both of us, allowing me to go first. I looked up at her, wondering if this was okay.

"Go on, Lunar." She smiled. "It's okay."

I went through the door and saw Dad waiting for me. He came towards us and hugged me tightly, gazing upward at the princess. He bowed to her, then began to address her properly.

"Greetings, Your Highness." Dad beamed delightfully.

"Hello." Princess Celestia smiled in return. "You must be Lunar's father."

"I sure am, yes."

"I'd like to talk to you both inside one of these rooms, if that is okay with you, sir." Princess Celestia continued.

"Yes, of course." Dad answered, looking at me, then at the princess again.

The princess smiled politely and began to escort us to one of the nearby rooms in this hallway. She opened the door to it, closing and locking it behind her. I looked around the room and saw all the desks and books the room had to offer and was beyond amazed. I felt like it resembled my room and calmed down, reaching my point of normalcy. I turned back to Dad and the princess and smiled happily. Dad sat down in one of the chairs, as did the princess. The two of them turned to me and smiled brightly at me.

"Lunar," Princess Celestia started, "can you take a guess why I brought you here with your father?"

I thought about what the princess asked me. I could take a guess, but it would be something she just told me: "Because I remind you of that other unicorn?"

Princess Celestia giggled quietly. "Well, yes," she turned to Dad, "but it's something else I want to talk to you about."

"And what was that, Your Highness?" Dad asked.

"Lunar?" Princess Celestia called. "Mr. Nights? Have…?" She trailed off briefly before picking up again. "Tell me: do either of you believe in mare's tales, such as the old 'Mare on the Moon' tale?"

"Well," Dad began, turning to me momentarily, "n-not exactly."

"I do…" I answered.

Princess Celestia focused her attention on me for the next question. "Do you know what that story is about, Lunar?"

"Yeah," I replied informally, "the 'Mare on the Moon' is an old story that states that there is an mare trapped in the moon. The mare, who goes by the name of Nightmare Moon, vowed vengeance and promised to return one day, using the stars as her guide. She wanted to bring eternal night down to everypony and, well, clearly that hasn't happened."

Princess Celestia nodded. "You know your history very well, Lunar. I am very impressed."

"History?" I repeated. "But that's an old mare's tale…although I believe the story, it isn't true…is it?"

"Well…" continued the princess. She paused for a long time. "Let me ask you this, Lunar…can you name the princesses of the land?"

"Well," I started, "there's yourself…umm…then there is Princess Cadance…I can't recall any of the oth-oh, there's Prince Blueblood as well." I stopped and tried thinking of anypony else that was royalty. "I don't know anypony else that may be a prince or princess."

"So you've never heard of the princess of the night?" Princess Celestia inquired.

"I know that the queen of the eternal night is Nightmare Moon." I answered.

Princess Celestia smirked, rubbing her chin with her forehoof slightly. "Tell me more about what you know in regards to Nightmare Moon."

"From my readings," I responded, "I know that Nightmare Moon was a formidable foe for you, Princess. If I'm not mistaken, you fought her yourself and…" It finally hit me, what Princess Celestia was trying to tell me.

"And what, Lunar?" She smiled.

"You trapped her in the moon…" I slowly answered. "Thus making the 'Mare on the Moon' tale…" I thought about my response closely. "Th-that can't really be a true story, Princess…did you really go against Nightmare Moon that long ago?"

Princess Celestia nodded. "I did. Do you know what was used to imprison Nightmare Moon inside the moon for the thousand years?"

"I believe they were called the Elements of Harmony, if I'm not mistaken." I answered.

"Tell me about them, Lunar."

"There are five elements that make up the Elements of Harmony: Honesty, Laughter, Loyalty, Generosity, and Kindness." I said. "There are rumors of a sixth element, but those rumors are mostly false. There was no solid evidence to prove that a sixth element was found."

"Not until recently." Princess Celestia pointed out.

"It was found?" Dad asked.

"Remember that purple unicorn I told you about, Lunar?" Princess Celestia asked me.

I nodded in response. "Yes, Your Highness."

"Well," she continued, "that unicorn's name is Twilight Sparkle. She was a very gifted unicorn when she enrolled here at my school, much like you are. She recently discovered the missing sixth element – Magic – and used it to defeat Nightmare Moon in an old castle inside the Everfree Forest recently. Do you know what happened next?"

I shook my head slowly, before remembering the strange variance in the shape of the moon recently, drawing a rather unusual conclusion. "The moon did change its appearance recently…"

"It did," Princess Celestia acknowledged, "because of what Twilight Sparkle did. By defeating Nightmare Moon, she broke the curse Princess Luna was in for a thousand years."

"Princess Luna?" I repeated.

"That's a name I do not recognize, Your Highness." Dad added.

"That is because Princess Luna has been trapped in the moon for over a thousand years." Princess Celestia told us both.

I was surprised. Confused, I asked Princess Celestia a question of my own. "But I thought that Nightmare Moon was trapped in the moon for over a thousand years, Princess. Are you saying that there was a second pony trapped in the moon for the same time?"

The princess giggled. "Not exactly, Lunar. You see, Nightmare Moon came from Princess Luna's subconscious. Princess Luna and I used to rule over Equestria together, but when Princess Luna became a bit more jealous and let her emotions get the better of her, she became Nightmare Moon and tried to enact an endless night throughout the land. That's when I fought her and trapped her in the moon using the Elements of Harmony. Fast forward a thousand years and Nightmare Moon returns and the new wielders of the Elements of Harmony fight her and break the curse held on my sister, returning her to the land."

Two of the princess' words stuck with me like glue. "Your sister?"

Princess Celestia nodded, turning to the door and waving her hoof for somepony else to enter. The door was encased in a royal cobalt aura and opened up to us, revealing a smaller alicorn to Dad and myself. The alicorn was the same height I was and was roughly the same color as me. Aside from their mane color, it felt like I was looking into a mirror that swapped my gender. Her mane was azure colored to my black. Stepping forward, she appeared to be nervous about being near us.

"Lunar," Princess Celestia smiled, "Mr. Nights, this is my younger sister, Princess Luna."

"G-Greetings, fellow subjects." Princess Luna said, waving at both Dad and myself.

Both of us bowed in the presence of another alicorn and returned her greeting.

"It's a pleasure, Your Highness." Dad told her.

"Good morning, Princess." I added.

Princess Luna walked next to Princess Celestia and sat down in a chair next to her. Princess Celestia smiled at Princess Luna, then turned to Dad and I again.

"Now Lunar," Princess Celestia began again, "I'm going to take a good guess that you enjoy studying during the nighttime hours and enjoy basking in the moonlight a bit more than in the sunlight, am I not right?"

I nodded. "Well, it is in my name, Princess Celestia. Both of our names revolve around the nighttime hours." I motioned to Dad.

Princess Celestia turned to Dad, who told her what his first name was. "My first name is Eclipse."

"Eclipse?" Princess Celestia repeated. "That is a very fine name for a very mature unicorn like yourself, Mr. Nights, same for you Lunar."

"Thank you, Princess." I smiled.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Dad added.

"You're both quite welcome." Princess Celestia replied. "Now Lunar, do you know how my school works?"

"The students take their classes during the day and focus on strengthening their magic with you," I answered, "right?"

"You're close to it." Princess Celestia remarked. She turned to Princess Luna. "Do you have anything you want to add, sister?"

"W-Well," Princess Luna spoke, nervousness being traced easily in her voice, "I've been wanting to follow in my sister's hoofsteps and open a school of my own, young Lunar Nights. However, as I'm sure my sister has told you, our past…well, it isn't the brightest star in the sky, if you know what we mean."

I nodded slowly, thinking I may know what Princess Luna might have meant by that.

"Lunar," Princess Celestia continued, "would you be willing to learn from my sister and help her start up her own school? The reason I ask this from you is because you and my sister both enjoy the night very much and are both more active during the evening hours than during the daytime hours. Since there is no teacher yet in her school like there are in mine, I'm sure Princess Luna would be more than happy in teaching you herself."

I was astonished, anxious, and happy all at once. I didn't know what to say, leaving my mouth opened with no words coming out of them.

"I'm sure you two would have just as much fun as I had with Twilight Sparkle when she was here in Canterlot." Princess Celestia added.

I nodded excitedly. "Of course, Your Highness!"

Princess Luna smiled softly. "Thank you, young Lunar Nights."

I beamed delightfully as I found out I would be learning directly from a princess of Equestria.

* * *

On the first day of my new learnings, Princess Luna took me outside with her and positioned me next to her on the balcony. She turned to me and smiled happily at me.

"Lunar Nights," she began, "do you know how the sun and moon are raised and lowered?"

I nodded. "Princess Celestia used to raise the sun and moon, Your Highness."

"That would be correct, Lunar Nights," answered Princess Luna, "and please, you may call me Luna."

"As you wish, Luna." I chuckled.

"My sister tells me that you're one skilled unicorn." Luna stated. "Would you like to learn how to paint my nightly sky with some stars?"

I nodded excitedly. "Oh yes, please, Luna!"

Luna giggled. "Very well, my little pony. Now, watch me and follow my lead."

Luna began concentrating and started raising the moon, giving me pointers as to how I could paint the sky with stars. Following her advice, I used my magic to reveal a plethora of stars in the sky. I smiled, watching all of the stars shine brightly against the sky and against the nice, soothing light the moon gave off. Luna cleared her throat, tapping me on my flank.

"It seems as if our lessons are influencing the destiny of a certain somepony." She told me.

I looked back and saw that a cutie mark had revealed itself on my flank. I was incredibly happy as a figure of a full moon surrounded by some stars appeared on my flank. I chuckled, looking to Luna's cutie mark and drawing some comparisons to hers.

"We almost have identical marks, Luna." I smiled.

"Some destinies are broad enough where multiple ponies can partake in them." Luna replied. "It seems as if, perhaps, we were destined to meet."

"Do you think Princess Celestia foresaw before sending me to learn from you, Princess?" I wondered.

"It is hard to say," Luna said, "since destinies cannot be seen in that particular way. Some destinies are like set paths and can only be achieved at some point in a pony's life while other destinies are more complex and require much more learning, time, and dedication to uncover. My destiny was something like that."

"How did you get your cutie mark, Princess?" I curiously asked.

"The day my mark came to me…" Luna giggled. "That was a day I will never forget." She began to tell me the story of how she got her cutie mark as the first lesson came to a slight close.

 _I think I'll enjoy this path very much._ I thought as I listened deeply to Luna's story.

* * *

 _ **~Three years later~**_

"…Such an intriguing take on an old spell." I smirked. "Difficult to read, but…what else would Ponish be good for? It's always good to challenge yourself every now and again…"

I just finished reading some of Star Swirl the Bearded's spells in one of his old journals that he kept around in the Canterlot archive. Princess Luna gifted me this journal as a result of how far I had progressed in my studies since being taken under her wing a few years ago. Most of the time, I focused on studying and pleasing Princess Luna as best as I could. I was always there when I could be and often was the one to help her out if she needed anything heavy or while she was sick.

My time in Princess Luna's School of Enchanted Unicorns has been nothing short of enjoyable and I appreciate mustering up the courage to try to enroll in Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns because were it not for that one decision, I would never had enrolled in Princess Luna's school…or been asked to enroll in it, at least.

I turned the page in the journal and saw the heading on the page. I smiled and widened my eyes a bit as I read slowly that it was Star Swirl the Bearded's final spell before he disappeared from Equestria. I began reading it a bit slowly and wondered what kind of spell this could be.

" _From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled._ " I flipped the page and was shocked to see it empty. "Is…this can't be all of it, right? The spell doesn't even rhyme or anything…"

I was astonished because I did not expect anything less than completed work from Star Swirl. Suddenly, as if on cue, an indigo colored scroll appeared in front of me. A seal on the scroll let me know that this came directly from Princess Luna herself. Taking the seal off of the scroll and unraveling it, I started to read what Princess Luna sent me.

 _Dear Lunar Nights:_

 _I trust that you are studying very hard right now in your pursuit towards your destiny. I am writing this letter to you in regards to the Star Swirl the Bearded journal, assuming you have read up to, if not, passed it at the present moment. I also assume that you might be wondering why the final spell is incomplete._

"Just a bit, Princess." I said out loud. I continued reading the letter.

 _The last spell in the journal was Star Swirl the Bearded's final spell. After many unsuccessful attempts at perfecting it, he abandoned the spell because he lacked the key motivation to perfect it, which was understanding friendship._

 _If you can recall, my sister had given a copy of this same journal to her former star pupil, Twilight Sparkle. She studied under my sister's tutelage for a couple of years before you started your studies. Princess Twilight Sparkle resides in Ponyville now, a town located not too far from Baltimare. I have arranged a meeting between you and Princess Twilight Sparkle. I want you to learn the wonders of friendship from her in the hopes that you too may be able to further your studies like she has._

 _Enclosed in this letter is a map to Ponyville. I expect you to travel there and learn the wonders of friendship. You have made me proud of all of your accomplishments over these last few years, especially in helping me overcome some of my own fears and help me to start a school that even my sister is proud of. However, all of your accomplishments will be for nothing if you cannot learn how to make friends. If you learn the wonders of friendship, then I know you will be ready to continue on in your studies._

 _Warmest regards,_

 _Princess Luna_

Looking at the map that was enclosed in the letter, I saw that Ponyville was indeed close to Baltimare. Not wanting to displease Princess Luna, I began packing my saddlebags with some necessities, the journal, Princess Luna's letter, and my good luck charm. I gazed up at the moon, prepared to embark on my journey towards Ponyville.

 _Princess Twilight Sparkle?_ I thought. _Why does that name sound so familiar?_

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _  
_

 _My first story in roughly a year. I do apologize for the long wait, but things got rough for me in 2017. Some of that emotion poured over into this story (and to those that really read in depth, they can possibly tell what happened). I haven't been entirely absent though, as I wrote part one of a three part novel that I cannot upload here (it's not fanfiction of anything, rather a new idea). I am trying to go back to a sense of normalcy and writing is what I consider normal. I hope to publish more in the future here._

 _-Dan_


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